The Miami Heat were blown out by the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat walked into the game with a 2-1 series lead but walked out of the game with the series tied 2-2.
The Heat did not perform well at all, coming second-best in most aspects to the Celtics. Miami’s signature excellence was nowhere to be found tonight and Stephen A. Smith had some choice words for their performance.
Stephen A. Smith spoke on SportsCenter after Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
He slammed the Miami Heat for the way they played and called them out for not stepping up to the occasion and letting the Boston Celtics pull themselves back into the series. He did give the Celtics credit for the way they played, but Smith maintained that the Miami Heat lost the game because of their own poor play (2:27 onwards):
“Other than being pathetic, moribund, and absolutely god awful, I guess you can give Boston’s defense credit for that. There is no excuse whatsoever for a number 1 seed, a team that won 53 games this year, a team that is vying for a championship in the Eastern Conference Finals. You’re entire starting lineup combined for 18 points? I don’t give a damn what kind of fouls the referees were calling in favor of Boston, who went to the free-throw line 26 times to Miami’s 9 in the first half. FIVE STARTERS HAVE NO EXCUSE FOR COMBINING FOR 18 POINTS IN A 48 GAME. That is beyond pathetic. It’s one of those where they should literally seek permission to get back to south beach. They shouldn’t even be allowed being that damn awful. They got some making up to do… In the end, 5 starters combined for 18 points. That’s an average of 6 points per starter. If that ain’t pathetic, I don’t know what is.”
Stephen A. Smith also called out a lot of NBA players before Game 4, when he said that today’s NBA players cry more than soap opera actors. Smith has not been holding back on criticizing NBA players during this playoff run.
The Heat will be looking to bounce back in Game 5 when they play in Miami. The Celtics are missing a few key players, with Marcus Smart still a doubt to return in Game 5. The series between Miami and Boston is proving to be very even, and we could see this series go to 7 games when all is said and done.
