What Will The Next Move Be In The Boston-Miami Chess Match?

The Boston Celtics started this series as themselves, lost their way, lost their way completely, and then, maybe, possibly, found their way back.

It has been a winding start to the Eastern Conference Finals. This is the NBA at its finest - where American soap opera intersects with a form of violent, high-flying chess.

On the drama front, the roles seemed cast through the first two games. The Celtics were the more gifted, more explosive side, but also the team less sure of itself. The Miami Heat were the perfect foil - less talented, but unflappable and more capable of executing a better plan.

In Game 1, the Celtics were in control until they very suddenly weren't. They led by 5 points with a minute to go before being undone by a step-back Jimmy Butler three in regulation and then an absurd Butler drive in overtime, followed by The Block Heard Around Twitter.

In Game 2, the ship seemed righted at half-time, with Boston building a double-digit lead. But in the third quarter they unravelled in a profound way, losing their minds on offence and defence. Miami's 2-3 zone made Boston look completely hopeless, and the parade of Bam Adebayo dunks at the other end made it seem like the Celtics were somehow broken.

In the NBA, failure can redefine someone in a hurry. Paul George is now a write-off to most until he scores 50 in a Game 7 while wrestling a mountain lion to death during the fourth quarter. 

For Boston, re-evaluations weren't quite verging on Clipper levels. All the Celtics were playing hard - but at the same time they were all playing rattled. Jayson Tatum - the most talented player in the series - was lost and indecisive, though he continued to play great defence. A 40% three-point shooter, he was turning down open looks to dribble into a ruck of limbs before heaving up a prayer or throwing it out to Butler or Jae Crowder.

Kemba Walker's mazy dribbles often went nowhere and Jaylen Brown drifted in and out. Marcus Smart was typically defiant but can’t be the primary option. The muddle of Brad Wanamaker, Enes Kanter, Robert Williamsand Semi Ojeyele wasn't helping, though the Celtics looked to have found something with playing Grant Williams at the five and switching everything at the end of Game 2.

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The stern looks from the zeitgeist fell on Brad Stevens more than the players. His team looked completely unprepared for Miami's zone, despite Miami playing zone more than any other team in the league. 

Time and time again Boston let the shot clock leak away, spending half the possession furiously back-pedalling towards half-court against Miami's pressure, before having to settle for a desperate pull-up jumper out of a hastily conceived isolation. When they did drive, they often sent lazy kick-out passes straight to Miami's wings, betrayed by muscle memory and forgetting where the defenders are waiting in a zone.

Throughout all this, Miami played the role of patient, intelligent, unforgiving assassin. 

They waited for Boston to walk into their traps and then were ruthless punishing them. Butler would hover ominously around the edges of game until the most important moments, at which point he would morph into the game's defining player. 

Adebayo infected every Boston possession. While Walker's mazy dribbles felt liked pained, pointless dancing at times, Goran Dragic's mazy dribbles were lethal and game-ending. Crowder and Duncan Robinson rained quick-trigger threes and Tyler Herro continued his ascent towards stardom with ridiculous shot-making. 

In Game 3, Boston finally did away with the angst. Hesitation gave way to conviction and force. Led by Brown, Boston attacked the paint relentlessly. Stevens' adjustments were powerful, dragging Adebayo to the perimeter and opening up lanes to the rim. Smart was deployed on Dragic and his pressure ruined Miami's offence. A guiding thought before the series was that Miami didn't have enough players who could create one-on-one against Boston's length and switching. Dragic scoffed at that in the first two games, but with Smart's chains on him (Dragic shot 2-10 with 5 turnovers), the Heat didn't have enough options in Game 3.

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The series is now perfectly poised. Even with a 2-0 lead, Miami's tactical advantages seemed tenuous and solvable. In Game 3, Boston seemed to solve them. The series will reset now, with Boston having the advantage in each game, yet Miami having the 2-1 lead to keep them as slight series favourites. Miami's mind tricks might be cast aside now, but the Heat have already banked two games through them. One more small re-invention and twist of the knife might be enough to get them to the Finals.

Gordon Hayward's return has changed everything for Boston. He's the best passer on the team, and the perfect antidote for the turnovers and lack of composure that doomed Game 2. His impact in Game 3 was immediate and decisive, but his return alone won’t end the series. The Heat are too good to die quietly.

In Game 3, Boston had the pressure of performing to prevent a complete disaster. In Game 4 and beyond they will have the pressure of performing to lock away a series where they're the more talented team.

The loudest elements of drama - the potential for utter catastrophe - have been done away with. Both of these teams are tough and play with grit. Discombobulation will only ever be temporary. The chess match now takes centre stage, and the next move may decide the series.

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