3 not-so-bold Boston Celtics predictions ahead of Game 2 vs Heat
The Boston Celtics continue to make things hard from themselves in these playoffs.
Following a disappointing Game 1 loss at the hands of Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Celtics hope to bounce back to even the series at 1-1 Friday night at TD Garden.
With their backs against the wall, the C’s have typically responded which should be the case in Game 2. In fact, the Celtics are 4-1 following a loss and find themselves in another must-win game to avoid going down 0-2 to the Heat.
Boston Celtics must turn up their own source of heat
To get this done, the C’s must play strong for four quarters and avoid a third quarter collapse that told the story of Game 1. Coming off a strong game on the boards, Celtics big man Robert Williams knows his squad will respond.
"“There is no doubt in my mind that we will come out ready to play in Game 2,” Williams said, via WEEI. “But the problem is you can’t keep relying on that…We can’t rely on our backs being against the wall.”"
That is where this Boston Celtics team is still growing. As great as Tatum can be in a game, the team just has trouble feeding off prosperity. That was again the case to start the Eastern Conference Finals.
Instead of riding the momentum of their Game 7 win against the Philadelphia 76ers, the C’s took a step back and surrendered home court advantageto the No. 8 seed Heat. They also gave an already confident team even more confidence.
How do they right the ship?
First, they can’t get outscored 46-25 in any quarter like they did in Game 1. They must play an entire 48 minutes with pace and defensive energy which leads to the first not-so-bold prediction.
Prediction 1: Boston Celtics bring the energy defensively and offensively
Like the series against the 76ers, the Celtics will turn it up and play like they can play. In fact, look for a more aggressive Tatum and Brown driving to the hoop which will set the team up to shoot more threes and in this game they will outshoot the Heat from beyond the stripe.
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On the other side of the court, the C’s will throw everything at Butler who scored 35 points in Game 2.
Will it be Brown straight up on Butler or will Smart or Derrick White be staked with the task? Whoever is on Butler, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla will make an adjustment so that other players on the Heat team will have to make shots.
Along with Butler, the Boston Celtics must find an answer for Bam Adebayo.
Prediction 2: Grant Williams finds his shine again for the Celtics
The Celtics will start the game with Robert Williams and Al Horford taking turns defending Adebayo but look for Grant Williams to finally get in on the action as he has had past success against the Heat big man, and he can also spread the court on the other end of the court.
Whatever happened to land Williams in Mazzulla’s doghouse, he will get an opportunity to earn more minutes in this series. Expect Grant to put on that Batman cape and give the Celtics a spark off the bench defensively and offensively as he heats it up beyond the stripe.
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That energy will feed the Celtics superstars as Tatum and Brown will bring their complete games to this one.
Prediction 3: Tatum and Brown combine for 70 in a runaway victory
Expect Brown to bring the fire early and Tatum to get going early in the third to help the Celtics turn a small lead into a runaway victory.
In taking just 4 shots in the second half of Game 1, Tatum will come up clutch in this one with roll players such as Grant Williams, Derrick White and Horford coming up big in different ways to complement the stars.
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In combining for 70 points, the Celtics duo will spark the momentum back in Boston’s direction as the series shifts to South Beach.
Game 2 prediction: Celtics 118, Heat 103