Turnovers not a zero-sum game for Erik Spoelstra, Heat in East finals vs. Celtics

Throughout this postseason, turnovers rarely have been an issue for the Miami Heat, including their two road games against the Boston Celtics during these Eastern Conference finals.

And yet, in an odd way, limiting themselves to nine in each of those games at TD Garden somewhat stands as an issue.

Because, as coach Erik Spoelstra explained, playing too cautiously can be a dangerous game against a defense as stingy as the Celtics’.

“You’re always striking this fine line,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat returning to the court for Wednesday night’s Game 5 at FTX Arena. “You don’t want to play passive. We have to be able to take aggressive chances with our offense. Otherwise you’re just going to be facing one-on-five and getting caught at the end of the clock. That doesn’t work, either.

“So you do have to be aggressive. We do have to get to our strengths. But we want guys to be aggressive, but also be decision-makers.”

The nine turnovers in both Games 3 and 4 in Boston marked just the second and third times this postseason the Heat kept the total to single digits, with the other their seven in their Game 4 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

The Heat ended the regular-season third worst in the NBA in turnovers per game, at 14.9. And yet one of the two teams to rank worse, the Golden State Warriors, at 14.9, are poised to advance to the NBA Finals.

Because sometimes you have to take risks.

“You don’t want to play protective, preventive basketball, either,” Spoelstra said. “Against a great defense, if you’re just going to be passive and trying not to make a mistake, that’s not going to put enough points on the board. So you do have to take some chances.

“You do have to be assertive. You have to be aggressive. But then you have to read the flow of the game.”

All-Nothing

When the Heat failed to land a player on one of the three All-NBA teams, they became just the sixth No. 1 seed since the playoffs expanded in 1983-84 not to have a selection.

The other five such teams had uneven playoff success.

The 2014-15 Hawks lost in the Eastern Conference finals; the 2011-12 Chicago Bulls lost in the first round; the 1999-00 Indiana Pacers lost in the NBA Finals; the 1993-94 Hawks lost in the East semifinals; and the 1988-89 Detroit Pistons won the NBA championship.

Media balloting was completed ahead of the playoffs.

Jimmy Butler had made third-team All-NBA in his previous two seasons with the Heat. Prior to Butler’s 2020 selection, the Heat had gone without an All-NBA selection since LeBron James in 2014.

The Heat’s lone award selections for the 2020-21 regular season were Bam Adebayo on second-team All-Defensive and Tyler Herro as winner of Sixth Man of the Year. Spoelstra was a finalist for Coach of the Year, placing third behind the Phoenix Suns’ Monty Williams and Memphis Grizzlies Taylor Jenkins.

The Heat remain in contention for the newly created Eastern Conference MVP trophy as well as the MVP trophy in the NBA Finals, should they advance.

Road Rally

The Heat are hosting a Road Rally at FTX Arena for Friday’s Game 6 in Boston.

Doors for the 8:30 p.m. game at TD Garden will open at 7:30 p.m., with the national broadcast to be shown on the in-arena screens.

The game will not be broadcast on the outdoor media-mesh screen affixed to the arena alongside Biscayne Boulevard.

The event will include the Heat Dancers, mascot Burnie, the Hoop Troop, public-address announcer Michael Baiamonte and the team’s in-arena hosts.

Tickets are $5, with general-admission seating, available for purchase at Heat.com and Ticketmaster.com. There is an eight ticket maximum per person. Tickets will not be available at the arena box office.

Parking will be available in the arena’s P2 parking garage at $5.