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Miami Heat (47-33) at Boston Celtics (47-34)
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #82, Home Game #41
TV: ESPN, CSNNE, SunSports
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 790 The Ticket, Sirius 207
TD Garden
Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs Goran Dragic
Shooting Guard 
vs
Avery Bradley vs Dwyane Wade
Small Forward 
vs
Jae Crowder vs Joe Johnson
Power Forward 
vs
Amir Johnson vs Luol Deng
Center 
vs
Jared Sullinger vs Hassan Whiteside
ReservesEvan Turner
RJ Hunter
Jonas Jerebko
Terry Rozier
James Young
Jordan Mickey
Tyler Zeller
Marcus Smart
Kelly Olynyk
John Holland
InjuriesNone Reported
Head CoachBrad Stevens
ReservesGerald Green
Udonis Haslem
Amar'e Stoudemire
Josh McRoberts
Josh Richardson
Dorrell Wright
Briante Weber
Injuries Tyler Johnson (shoulder) out
Chris Bosh (blood clots) out
Justise Winslow (ankle) questionable
Head Coach Erik Spoelstra
Game Notes The Celtics close out the season with the third and final game against the Miami Heat. The Celtics lead the series 2-0 and so will own the tie breaker regardless of the results of this game. The Celtics beat them in Miami in November and in Boston in February. A sweep would be sweet, especially to give the Celtics a psychological advantage if these two teams meet in the playoffs.
The Heat's roster features a total of 38 all star selections and they are a formidable foe, but the Celtics youth may be a plus if they can run the older Heat and tire them out. The Heat are playing in the second of back to back games, playing in Detroit on Tuesday night and that could also affect the fatigue factor.
This is the Celtics 3rd big game for playoff seeding in a row. The Celtics lost to the Hawks in the first one, eliminating their hopes for the 3rd seed. They then lost to the Charlotte Hornets in embarrassing fashion, making this a must win game to have a chance at the 4th spot and home court advantage in the first round. The Heat are 3-9 when playing on Wednesday night.
The Celtics are getting healthy leading into the playoffs. Evan Turner and Marcus Smart are playing through eye injuries. Jae Crowder is working his way back from the ankle injury that sidelined him for 8 games and has been playing through an illness that hit him over the weekend. But all should play. For the Heat, Tyler Johnson (shoulder) and Chris Bosh (blood clot) are out and Justise Winslow (ankle) is questionable.
Key Matchups vs
Avery Bradley vs Dwyane Wade
Wade isn't the player he once was, but he is still dangerous when he gets going. He has also had to pick up his game and shoulder more of the load with Bosh out. He is averaging 19.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Bradley has always played him well and hopefully he can contain hm in this game.
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs Goran Dragic
Thomas and Dragic are two former Phoenix teammates facing off against each other. Dragic was considered to be the premiere point guard that was traded, but Isaiah has proved to be the real prize from last year's trade deadline. Dragic is averaging 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists. It would be great if Isaiah could show him up in this head to head matchup.
Honorable Mention Jared Sullinger vs Hassan Whiteside
Miami recently moved Amare Stoudemire to the bench and Whiteside back into the starting lineup. Whiteside leads the Heat with 41 double-doubles. He is averaging 14.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, and a league best 3.7 blocks per game. Jared will have his hands full trying to slow Whiteside down and trying to keep him off the boards and away from the basket.
Keys to the Game
DefenseDefense wins games. The Heat are allowing just 98.5 points per game while the Celtics are allowing 102.7 points per game. The Celtics have strayed from that defensive mindset that had them in the top 5 defenses in December. They must get back to making defense a priority and play tough team defense. The team that is able to lock down on defense will be the team to get the win.
ReboundCrashing the boards will give the Celtics extra possessions as well as keeping the Heat from getting fast breaks and second chance points. However, Hassan Whiteside has been cleaning up on the glass for the Heat and the Celtics will need to work hard to win the rebounding battle.
Be AggressiveThe Celtics have to be aggressive in going to the basket and not settle for jumpers, especially if the jumpers aren't falling. They have to dive for loose balls and be aggressive in crashing the boards. They can't afford to slack off or to allow the Heat to play harder than them. They have to be the team that wants it more. Home court in the first round is on the line and the Celtics must give it their all in this game.
Run and Play 48 Minutes The Celtics need to run on every possession. They have the legs to keep it up and not let up and to tire the older Heat out, who are also playing in back to back games. The Celtics need to run and to play hard from the opening tip until the final buzzer. If they should get a lead, they have to work even harder to keep it. They have been giving up big leads lately and the Heat have come back from at least 15 down to win 6 times this season. No let up from start to finish.
Move and Take Care of the Ball The Celtics need to move the ball to find the open man and the best shot possible. When the ball sticks and players try to do too much and not play team ball, they tend to struggle. They also need to take care of the ball and not make careless passes and turn the ball over because if they do, the Heat will make them pay. Over the last 8 minutes of the 2nd quarter against Charlotte, the Celtics seemed to turn the ball over on every possession. They have to keep their focus and limit turnovers.
X-Factors Focus Factor - This is a big game for the Celtics' playoff position and each player has to focus on playing their best team ball in order to get the win. They have to focus on making sharp passes and on moving the ball to find the open man and they have to focus on crashing the boards. Most of all, they have to focus on getting back to playing tough defense. They can't let themselves get distracted and try to play hero ball. They have to keep their focus on doing what it takes to get this win. The Heat will be focused because they know the importance of this game.
Officiating Factor - Officiating can always be an x-factor. In a lot of games the officiating isn't a factor. But there are some where the officiating completely tilts the game in one direction or the other. Whether the officiating team or the league has an agenda and whether the refs let the teams play or call every little foul affects how the game is played. The Celtics need to play through the officiating and not let the way it is called affect them.
Topic: Heat (47-33) at Celtics (47-34) Game #82 4/13/16 (Read 44582 times)