The Boston Celtics were able to win both games in Miami, and now lead this series 3-1.
The Celtics were served a blow in game 4, losing Kristaps Porzingis for what looks like 2 weeks with a calf strain.
For the Heat, Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier remain out while Jaime Jaquez will also miss game 5 with a hip injury. The Jaquez injury is a big blow for the Heat, as his +/- is second to only Herro amongst players with 100+ minutes in the series.
Boston opened as a 14-point favorite for game 5 and early action on the Heat has moved the consensus line to 13.5. The Heat's inability to score in this series is reflected in the game 5 total, which currently sits at 200.
This is the first game of tonight's TNT doubleheader and will tip off at 7:30 PM EDT.
Boston has covered 13.5 points in 2 out of the 4 games this series, and we think they find a way to cover again here in game 5. While the Porzingis injury stings, Boston has bodies that can step in and fill that role.
For the Heat, their perimeter was already thin without Butler and Rozier, and the Jaquez injury will only put more pressure on that rotation. Haywood Highsmith has been awful this series (-54 plus/minus) and he is likely going to get 30+ minutest tonight.
Beyond just the injuries, Boston has been the best home team in the NBA throughout this season. They were 38-5 at home, with an average winning margin of 15 points.
Derrick White dropping 38 points on eight three-pointers wasn’t on the bingo card for many during Game 4 of this series against Miami. Heading back to Boston, look for Spo and the Heat to get extremely physical and eliminate easy looks from beyond the arc while forcing Boston into 2s.
With Porzingis off the floor, this will be a much easier scheme to execute for the Heat. Look for White’s numbers to come back to Earth due to a new-look Miami defense and the fact that he struggled at times without KP in the regular season.
Without Jimmy Butler and Jaime Jaquez today against Boston, Nikola Jovic will need to show up on the offensive end if the Heat have any chance to prolong this series. Jovic has played well this postseason for not having a huge role during the regular season for Miami, averaging a tick under 10 PPG on 47% shooting from downtown against Boston.
With Duncan Robinson looking like an afterthought in this rotation, Jovic is the wing to bet on for Miami. Take him to go over 9.5 points in game 5.