The Miami Heat play host to the Boston Celtics in the finale of their Eastern Conference Finals showdown. The Heat have dominated the first three games of this series, having won a pair in Boston and then controlling Sunday night's game in Miami. With no margin for error, Boston knows that they have a long way to go to make NBA history and be the first to come back from being down 3-0. The regular season saw the two teams split across four games, though this series certainly hasn't been any closer. Expect this one to go either way and with so much on the line for both sides, it should be an exciting showdown.
After entering the Eastern Conference Finals as the favorites for the NBA title, the Celtics have certainly disappointed in this series. Across three games, they've struggled in nearly every facet of the game, while they know that one more bad game will mean the end of their season. After how Sunday night went, it'll be interesting to see how they bounce back in this one. One group of fans thinks that they might have already lost any form of having a strong mentality, while another group thinks that with their backs against the wall, this is the perfect opportunity to show what they're made of. Boston has had decent success on the road this season, where they have a 29-19 record, and have actually performed better during the postseason. With a return to Boston up in game five, should they get through this one, it only takes one game at a time for them to get back into this series.
Injuries have been an are a of good news for the Celtics this season, even if it hasn't seemed to matter the last few games. Danilo Gallinari (knee) has been out all season but considering they haven't had him all season, the roster will remain consistent heading into Tuesday night.
“We're being counted out because we haven't been able to respond. But we're not out yet.”
Down 3-0, there's only one mindset our team can have: “Fight until the end.”https://t.co/WQIY6PzzVH
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 22, 2023
Boston has quite a bit of work to do if they want to be more competitive in this one than they were in any of the previous three games against Miami. The lack of solid scoring options has hurt this team, while the matchups on the defensive end have proven to be too much for them to overcome as well. With an offense that ranked fourth in scoring and a defense that ranked top five in nearly every defensive category, there's hope that they cab turn things around. Jayson Tatum (27.8 ppg) continues to lead the way but they'll need quite a bit more out of Jaylen Brown (23.1 ppg), who has struggled with consistency of late. With five double-figure scorers, they'll need everyone involved in this one to keep up with Miami.