Game story:
After a dominant and inspiring blow out victory against the Chicago Bulls in the last play-in game, the Miami Heat advanced to the first round of the NBA playoffs. It is the fifth consecutive year the Heat have earned a playoff berth, but considering all the circumstances it could be the most difficult path in recent years.
They need to now get through the top overall seed Boston Celtics, with game one tipping off in a few hours inside TD Garden. This will not be an easy task for Miami, who are without the services of two of their top guys in Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier.
The Heat were able to knock off the top overall seed last season in the Milwaukee Bucks during the first round in a gentleman sweep.
There is nothing to lose for this Miami core going into this series. It will be great playoff experience for guys like Jaime Jaquez Jr and Nikola Jovic. It also gives a preview of what the future could look like with young stars Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo leading the way.
Defending the deep Celtics, headlined by their duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, will show what this Heat squad is made of. Boston swept the season series 3-0, but it has been proven over the years that regular season matchups are considerably different than a postseason stage.
After being eliminated by the eighth seed Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago, the Celtics have a lot to prove. They are hungry to get back to the Finals and made sure of that by adding Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to their already formidable core.
The Heat are 2-1 over their last four years against the Celtics in the playoffs. However, Miami comes into this being short on star power and Boston comes into this having the deepest roster they have ever had in recent years.
Dating back to 2011, the Heat are 19-12 against their rivals in postseason games.
Today’s game will tip-off at 1:00 PM EST on ABC and Bally Sports Florida.
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- Duncan Robinson (facet) — QUESTIONABLE
- Jimmy Butler (MCL) — OUT
- Terry Rozier (neck) — OUT
- Josh Richardson (surgery) — OUT
Boston Celtics:
- Luke Kornet (calf) — OUT
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Miami Heat:
- Tyler Herro, G
- Caleb Martin, G
- Jaime Jaquez Jr, F
- Nikola Jovic, F
- Bam Adebayo, C
Boston Celtics:
- Jrue Holiday, G
- Derrick White, G
- Jaylen Brown, F
- Jayson Tatum, F
- Kristaps Porzingis, C
Betting Lines:
- Check the current odds out at FanDuel!
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 1:00 PM EST
- TV: ABC & Bally Sports Sun (Eric Reid, John Crotty)
- Radio: AM 560 Sports WQAM & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson)
- Spanish Radio: WAQI 710 AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda)
Come back to Hot Hot Hoops at game time to join our GameThread and chat about the game live with other Heat fans!
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Its 12am here and an hour before tipoff. I’m sleepy already…I’m gonna wake up with a massacre in Boston or a miracle. Hoping for the latter. Go Heat!
one game at a time
Lets give them Hell. Go Heat
No Terry? Ouch. I was hoping he would be back. It was already going to be a tough game, but I give the Heat almost no chance in this one. Hope Boston gets cocky if they win, and we get Terry back for game 2, and try to sneak a win there. Either way, going to love to see who plays a great game under these circumstances. You never know who will surprise.
Go HEAT!
def want heat to win but give them no chance to win series ,with terry back little chance get a game or 2 if jim and terry were both healthy 5050 series.