Good news: Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III will both suit up tonight for the Boston Celtics as they take on the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals series that’s tied 2-2. Smart has been dealing with ankle soreness and swelling but evidently is feeling much better after going through warmups. Robert Williams will be day-to-day with knee soreness for the rest of the playoffs, but thankfully, he’s good to go today after having a huge impact in Game 4.
On the Miami side, Tyler Herro has been ruled out for the second straight game with a groin injury. Jimmy Butler’s been dealing with knee soreness that kept him out of the second half of Game 3, but he’s warming up with the intent to play. The rest of the Heat questionables (who have been questionable pretty much all series and all postseason) all appear poised to play as well.
The absence of Tyler Herro will likely continue to have a big impact because that’s one less ball handler for a Heat team that can go through slumps of offensive challenges at times. Victor Oladipo stepped up in a major way off the bench in Game 4, but the rest of the team was unable to match his energy as the Celtics got off to a huge lead and didn’t look back as they ballooned the advantage to 29 at one point.
For Boston, Derrick White was ultra aggressive out of the gate, replacing Marcus Smart in the starting lineup. If he maintains that aggression even off the bench, the Celtics will be in a good spot. Bam Adebayo has had one breakout game and three other pedestrian games. Unrelated, Robert Williams has missed one game this series.
Game 5 between the Celtics and the Heat will tip off tonight at 8:4530 p.m. ET on ESPN.
