NBA playoffs 2022: The Miami Heat might not have enough to overcome the league's best defense

BOSTON — Midway through the third quarter Monday night as the Boston Celtics were pushing their lead to as much as 32 points, Rudy Gobert couldn't resist.

«This Boston defense is tough» the Utah Jazz center tweeted.

This was both innocuous and accurate at a time when the Celtics were smothering the Miami Heat and re-writing a slew of records on the way to a 102-82 victory that tied the Eastern Conference finals at 2-2.

But Gobert, it sure seemed, was subtweeting. He had a point, though maybe not his preferred one.

Gobert was noting the Celtics looked great on defense even though Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart was out with an ankle injury.

Gobert, a three-time DPOY, appears to still be salty that Smart beat him out for the award.

What Gobert was saying without saying, though, is the Heat were powerless to score against Boston in the halfcourt, Smart's absence notwithstanding.

The Heat are hurting at the moment and they look like they're going to need some help to take two out of the three games left to reach the Finals. Be it the injury gods, the Celtics themselves, or some yet to be discovered offensive savior.

They don't see it this way, at least publicly. They projected a strong and satisfied front after the loss, looking forward to going back home for Game 5 with homecourt advantage.

«This is part of the playoffs, there are these extreme highs and lows,» Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. «We've proven that we can find solutions offensively in a lot of different ways.»

Spoelstra is speaking the truth. The Heat have shown throughout the season they can manage adversity. They were walloped with injuries and constantly changing lineups, yet in the end still had the No. 1 seed in the East.

Spoelstra was once again