The league-leading Boston Celtics look to continue their dominance in the Eastern Conference when they host the Miami Heat tomorrow live at 8:30 AM on NBA League Pass.
What’s up with the Celtics?
The Celtics currently hold the best record in the league with a 17-4 record. They’ve won four straight, including nine of their last 10. Last year’s runners-up seem to have taken the hard-earned lessons they learned in the NBA Finals and translated that into the start of the new season.
In their last game, the Celtics deployed an offensive explosion as they dismantled the Charlotte Hornets, 140-105. Jayson Tatum dropped 35 points and Marcus Smart delivered exceptional playmaking with his 22-point and 15-assist performance. Malcolm Brogdon joined in on the bucket-making party as he scored 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting. As a team, the Celtics had 40 assists in a splendid display of passing and shot-making.
The Celtics are playing elite basketball and they’re not even at full strength as they’re still missing their other star Jaylen Brown who is listed as day-to-day because of a neck injury. Al Horford, who missed the game versus Charlotte, is off the injury list after dealing with back issues.
What’s up with the Heat?
The Heat are on a three-game win streak with their latest victory carrying a bit more weight since it was on the road. Before their 106-98 decision over the Atlanta Hawks, the Heat only had one road win. Bam Adebayo had 32 points and eight rebounds as he made sure that the Heat got the win away from the confines of their home floor.
Currently 2-7 on the road, the Heat will have their hands full against the Celtics. Fortunately, All-Star guard Jimmy Butler, who has missed the last six contests with a knee injury is expected to be back.
Miami, however, has several players who are nursing injuries. Duncan Robinson (ankle), Nikola Jovic (foot), Haywood Highsmith (ankle), Gabe Vincent (knee), Caleb Martin (non-COVID illness), Dewayne Dedmon (foot), Tyler Herro (ankle), and Max Struss (shoulder) are all listed questionable or probable.
The Heat have been a playoff contender in the last several seasons with their 2020 Finals run in the Bubble as the highlight of this team’s latest iteration. However, have the Heat fallen behind their rival, the Celtics? Butler, Adebayo, and the rest of the crew would want nothing more than to get the road win against the top dog of the East and reestablish themselves as a team to be reckoned with as the season progresses.
The rivalry continues
This is the second meeting of the season between the Heat and the Celtics. In their first matchup last month, it was the Celtics who came away with a 111-104 victory. Tatum and Brown combined for 57 points in Miami.
These two teams are very familiar with each other having met in several playoff series, including last season’s Eastern Conference Finals.
They will meet tomorrow before meeting again on Saturday as the Celtics host the two games on their floor.
