After a disappointing Game 3 loss for the Boston Celtics, they responded with a major bounce back win in Game 4. The Celtics were dominant from the start as they led 29-11 at the end of the first quarter and cruised to a 102-82 victory tying the series 2-2. The Miami Heat played historically poor offensively as their entire starting lineup combined to score just 18 points thanks in part to the Celtics stifling defense. For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum played great as was expected after his abysmal 10 point performance in Game 3. He responded by dropping a game-high 31 points in a much needed win which appears to have given the Celtics momentum in the series. After the Celtics impressive win the questions for the series at this point is how will the Heat respond and who will ultimately win the series?
For Game 5, I expect the Heat to respond as so far no team has won back to back games in the series and neither team has appeared rattled by a loss regardless of the final score. The Heat will need Bam Adebayo to step up offensively and be a strong #2 if not #1 option alongside Jimmy Butler who was phenomenal in the first two games of the series. Another option that will need to play well for the Heat to win is Victor Oladipo who basically was the only player who did not have an awful shooting performance. If Victor Oladipo is able to have a follow up performance along with the expected return of Tyler Herro from injury, this could give the Heat a much needed boost on the offensive end.
For my pick to win this series and who will represent the east in the NBA Finals, I am still going with the Heat to win in 7 games which was my original pick when the matchup was set. Though the Celtics have the best player in Tatum, I feel the overall depth of the Heat will make a difference down the stretch in this series. The concern for both teams is injuries as both teams are dealing with lingering injuries for many of their key players such as Marcus Smart and Tyler Herro. That is primarily what makes this series so hard to predict as every game feels so different with impact players in and out of the lineup. Another factor is turnovers as the winning team has had fewer turnovers in 3 of the 4 games in the series. It was especially apparent in Game 2 where the Celtics had 24 turnovers which ended up costing them in the end. This was to be expected as forcing turnovers is key for these two tough defensive minded teams and will continue to be something to watch as the series progresses.
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