After a shocking home defeat to the Heat in Game 2, the Celtics took care of business on the road with back-to-back wins to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series.
Boston returns home for Game 5, but it’ll be without a critical piece as center Kristaps Porzingis will miss some time with a calf injury.
But given its mounting injuries, don’t expect Miami to feel too sorry for the Celtics.
Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. didn’t even travel with the team to Boston, as he joins Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier on the inactive list.
Nonetheless, the betting market is siding with Miami, betting the spread down to 14 since it opened at 15.5.
Can the Heat rediscover the form that led to an impressive performance in Game 2? Let’s take a look.
Erik Spoelstra knew his team had to try something different following a 20-point loss in Game 1.
As a result, he implored his players to be much more aggressive offensively from the perimeter to have a better chance at keeping pace with the Celtics.
The strategy paid off as Miami hit 23 3-pointers, setting a team playoff record.
Replicating that type of performance would always be difficult in Game 3, especially with Celtics likely to make adjustments of their own (more on that later).
About The Author
Leave a Reply