The Boston Celtics forced a Game 5 after their win last time out in Miami. It was a crucial win for the Celtics who are still one loss away from elimination. They will be playing Game 5 at home, which doesn’t seem to be advantageous for the Celtics. The Celtics lost both their home games in Games 1 and 2 against the Heat. They will have to force the issue, as they are on the brink of elimination in this series, which they were favored to win.
The Miami Heat on the other hand are in the driver’s seat, with 3 straight victories over the Celtics. They had the chance to put the series to bed in Game 4. However, they were unable to make it count. No team has ever prevailed from going down 3-0 in a playoff series, and this might affect the morale of the Celtics’ players. This scenario will not let the Celtics affect their team much as they’ve been in such situations before.
Jayson Tatum is fit to lead the comeback for the Boston Celtics tonight
Jayson Tatum has been the Celtics’ most influential player, even getting a 51-point performance in this season’s playoffs. However, much will be required of him in tonight’s game as a loss would mean their elimination from the playoffs. Tatum managed to put on another dominant display last time out with a 33-point performance. As for tonight, he is not listed on the injury list, which means he will be gearing up to face the Heat tonight at home.
The Heat on the other hand has dealt with injury issues throughout this season. They could easily be dubbed as the most ‘injury-plagued’ team in the NBA. However, they have been able to mount tremendous challenges. They are still without Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo. Let’s take a look at the complete injury report and expected roster of both teams.
Boston Celtics injury report
- Danilo Gallinari (Out)
- Malcolm Brogdon (Probable)
Boston Celtics expected roster
- Jaylen Brown
- Jayson Tatum
- Al Horford
- Marcus Smart
- Derrick White
Miami Heat injury report
- Gabe Vincent (out)
- Victor Oladipo (Out)
- Tyler Herro (Out)
Miami Heat expected roster
- Kevin Love
- Jimmy Butler
- Bam Adebayo
- Max Strus
- Caleb Martin
The Boston Celtics will be favored to force a Game 6 against the Miami Heat
The Celtics will be playing at home, and with the support of the crowd, the players might receive a boost to perform better. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the primary players responsible for getting buckets and have averaged 28.1 and 22.8 points per game respectively. In the last game, the pair combined for a total of 50 points. This helped their team to stay alive in the ECF.
It is hard to not talk about the effect Jimmy Butler has had this postseason. Butler is averaging 29.9 points per game and is unstoppable at the moment for the Heat. It will be a huge task for the Celtics to keep him quiet, as no team has been able to keep him quiet. We will go with the Celtics to win Game 5 and their hopes of making it to the NBA Finals.
