"It comes down to decision making... We saw it with James Harden in the Sixers series" - JJ Redick believes the Heat-Celtics series will come down to 3x All-Star's decision making
As we gear up for the Eastern Conference finals between the Celtics and the Heat, JJ Redick, on ESPN's "Get Up," talked about what he thinks is the key for Jayson Tatum and the Celtics to take on this series and the Eastern Conference championship. He stated:
"It comes down to decision making. When Jayson Tatum is at his best, he's making good decisions. By decision making, I mean shot selection. I mean being quick with the ball, being able to catch and go. You don't want to play a dribble game against this Miami Heat defense.
"We saw it with James Harden in the Sixers series, they're going to have multiple defenders in the gap, and then passing, I thought, at times, in this Bucks series, his passing was phenomenal, but he's averaging four turnovers a game, and the Heat rely on turnovers to get out in transition and score."
Of the four teams remaining in the playoffs, the Miami Heat have the best defensive rating of 104.6 and rank no. 2 in opponent points off turnovers at 15.3. Miami has also given up the least amount of points in the paint for the remaining four teams in the playoffs.
Jayson Tatum has averaged 28 points per game on 44-38.6-81.5 shooting splits in the playoffs and has also managed six assists and 5.6 rebounds per game. He has hit a career-high in assists per game in the post-season this year.
Predictions: Heat vs Celtics, Mavs vs Warriors, NBA Finals
FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR (Robust Algorithm [using] Player Tracking [and] On/Off Ratings) has the Boston Celtics at a staggering 74% to make it to the NBA finals and 62% to win it.
In the Western conference, surprisingly, the scales tip in favor of the Dallas Mavericks, who have 54% chance to make it to the NBA finals, and 12% to win it. The Golden State Warriors, who many have picked as their favorites to win it all, have the lowest chance of winning the NBA Finals, at a mere 9%.
Caesars Sportsbook, on the other hand, has the picture completely flipped. As of May 15th, Caesars puts Golden State as the favorites to win it all, by a hefty margin.