The Celtics head to Miami for their second straight game on the road as they face the Heat for the 2nd of 4 meetings this season. The Celtics won the first game 108-89 on December 2. They will meet again in Miami on March 14 and in Boston on April 2. The Celtics won the series 3-0 last season and they won the first round series in last year’s playoffs 4-1. They are 84-53 all time overall against the Heat and 40-30 in Miami.
The Celtics mostly stood pat at the trade deadline, only trading away Jaden Springer and signing Torrey Craig as a free agent to fill the 14th roster spot. The Heat on the other hand traded the unjoyful Jimmy Butler to Golden State and Josh Richardson to the Jazz and they brought back Davion Mitchell, Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson. They should be used to playing without Butler who was either injured or suspended for most of this season. All 3 new players are expected to make their debut in this game.
The Celtics remain 2nd in the East. They are 5.5 games behind 1st place Cleveland. Thanks to their win on Saturday, they are 2.5 games ahead of 3rd place New York and 7 games ahead of 4th place Indiana. They are 21-6 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are 27-9 against Eastern Conference teams. After winning 4 straight, they lost to the Mavericks and won their last game against the Knicks.
The Heat are 7th in the East, 16 games behind first place Cleveland. They are half a game behind 6th place Detroit and the final guaranteed playoff spot. They are 1 game ahead of 8th place Orlando and 6 games ahead of 11th place Philadelphia. They are 12-10 at home and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 14-15 against Eastern Conference opponents and are coming off a loss in their last game.
The Celtics are playing in their second straight road game after a big win over the Knicks on the road on Saturday. After this game at Miami, they will head home to face San Antonio, who just traded for DeAaron Fox. They then have a much needed All Star Break. They will play at Philadelphia and at home against the Knicks to begin the stretch after the All Star Break.
Jrue Holiday will miss his 3rd straight game due to a shoulder impingement that has been bothering him for awhile now. Torrey Craig will have to wait a little longer to make his debut as he is out with an ankle injury. Jayson Tatum (knee) and Jaylen Brown (knee) are both questionable for this game. I’m guessing that Al Horford will once again start in place of Jrue Holiday. I’m not sure if Jaylen and Jayson will play and who will start if they don’t.
For the Heat, Jaime Jaquez, Jr is on their injury report. He didn’t practice on Sunday and is questionable for this game. Nikola Jovic is probable with an ankle injury. The heat have 3 new players from the Jimmy Butler trade and all 3, Davion Mitchell, Kyle Anderson and Andrew Wiggins, are expected to make their debut in this game. They could get a boost from Wiggins who was playing well for the Warriors before the trade.
Probable Celtics Starters
PG: Derrick White
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Kristaps Porzingis
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Luke Kornet
Neemias Queta
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
Baylor Scheierman
Sam Hauser
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/Out
Torrey Craig (ankle) out
Jrue Holiday (shoulder) out
Jayson Tatum (knee) questionable
Jaylen Brown (knee) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Heat Starters
PG: Tyler Herro
SG: Duncan Robinson
SF: Haywood Highsmith
PF: Bam Adebayo
C: Kel’el Ware
Heat Reserves
Kyle Anderson
Alec Burks
Keshad Johnson
Pelle Larsson
Kevin Love
Davion Mitchell
Terry Rozier III
Andrew Wiggins
Two Way Players
Josh Christopher
Isaiah Stevens
Dru Smith
Injuries/Out
Nikola Jovic (ankle) probable
Jaime Jaquez, Jr (illness) questionable
Head Coach
Erik Spoelstra
Key Matchups
Derrick White vs Tyler Herro
Herro is the Heat’s leading scorer this season. He is averaging 23.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. He is shooting 46.4% from the field and 38.8% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics in the first game, Herro finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting just 31.6% from the field and 20.3% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to keep him off of the 3 point line and defend him both on the perimeter and in the paint.
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Al Horford
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
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Bam Adebayo
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Al Horford vs Bam Adebayo
Adebayo is averaging 16.4 points, 10 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He is shooting 47.1% from the field and 28.8% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal while shooting 33.3% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. He is a threat to score in the paint and grab rebounds and so the Celtics need to box him out and defend him well in the paint.
Honorable Mention
Jaylen Brown vs Duncan Robinson
Robinson is averaging 10.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He is shooting 41.8% from the field and 37.7% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting just 22.2% from the field and no 3 pointers. If Andrew Wiggins gets playing time, he would be another player to watch.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense will always be the biggest key to winning every single game. So far this season, the Celtics defense hasn’t been as good as it was last year. The Celtics are 5th with a defensive rating of 110.0 while the Heat are 9th with a defensive rating of 111.9. The Celtics need to defend the perimeter especially since the Heat attempt 38.9 threes a game and shoot threes just slightly worse than the Celtics at 36.5%. The Celtics need to work hard on defense and make that their priority.
Rebound – Along with defense, rebounding is always a key to winning. As Pat Riley once said “No rebounds, no rings.” The Celtics average 44.8 rebounds per game (11th) while the Heat average 43.9 rebounds per game (19nd). The Celtics are 22-5 when they out-rebound opponents. It takes effort and hustle to get rebounds and the Celtics need to give more effort and hustle than the Heat to grab rebounds if they want to win this game.
Next Man Up – With 2 players questionable for this game and 2 players out, the Celtics will need every player to step up their game and contribute on both ends of the court. They need the starters to come out strong and get off to a good start. The reserves need to come in and keep up the energy and hit their shots and most importantly, every player must play lock down defense and also crash the boards.
Move the Ball – The Celtics are tough to beat when they keep the ball moving and find the open man but when one player over dribbles and lapses into hero ball, they falter. The Celtics are 28-1 when they have more assists than their opponent. Keep the ball moving and don’t lapse into iso ball, whether in the first quarter or the 4th quarter. Hero ball rarely works.
X-Factors
On the Road – The Celtics are on the road for the second straight game. In spite of the distractions of playing on the road, the Celtics have the best road record in the league at 21-6. They have also won 5 straight on the road. The Celtics need to stay focused on playing hard and as a team and not be distracted by the hostile crowd or the unfamiliar court.
Which Celtics Team Shows Up – We have seen the Celtics lose to teams that are missing stars and teams that the Celtics should beat handily, most recently, the depleted Mavericks. And we have seen them beat the top teams, most recently both the first place Cavaliers and third place Knicks. When the Celtics actually try they are every bit the Champions we saw last season. But, they too often don’t play with effort, play defense or rebound. Which Celtics team will show up for this one? The team that lost to the Mavericks or the team that beat the Cavaliers and the Knicks?
Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor in every game. Every crew officiates differently. Some call it tight, others let them play. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus from playing the game. The more aggressive team will usually get the benefit of the calls and so the Celtics need to be the more aggressive team.
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