Final: Celtics 122, Heat 92 - Six players in double figures as Celtics pull away from Heat in second half

GAME 52
Boston Celtics (26-25, 16-10 home, 9th East) vs. Miami Heat (32-18, 14-12 road, 1st East)
TD Garden
7:30 PM - NBC Sports Boston, NBA TV

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams

Miami: Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson, Bam Adebayo, Caleb Martin, Tyler Herro

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Romeo Langford is available after experiencing some Achilles-related left heel soreness in New Orleans. Dennis Schroder is probable with some Achilles soreness of his own. 

“Something happened in the game, recently, but he's had some soreness at times,” Ime Udoka said pregame. “He’s a guy that plays through pretty much everything so we've seen this before where he has to just test it out. He felt OK at shootaround and wants to do the pregame.”

- Jimmy Butler (toe), Kyle Lowry (personal reasons), Markieff Morris (return to competition reconditioning), KZ Okpala (wrist), PJ Tucker (knee), Omer Yurtseven (health and safety protocols), are all OUT for Miami. Victor Oladipo (knee) remains out as well. 

- Udoka made his case for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to be All-Stars

“Guys have been in and out all year for a lot of teams, so I don't’ think that should be held against a guy like Jaylen who has missed some. When he’s come back and lately, especially with those two, I think they’ve been playing extremely well together. It’s a short sample size but us being 4-0 when they’ve both scored 30, and so you see how they impact the game, obviously, and I think teams know that we’ve played against the value that they bring to our team, just like we know as coaches the value of who we’re playing against, and so two guys that are pretty consistent on a night to night basis, one of the top tandems in the league, they’re flirting around that 50 number with what they average between each other and I think we go where they go. When we’re good, when they’re really good together, we’re undefeated. 

- Boston is favored by 6

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. A test of the zone offense: First, Miami is known for their creative zone defense. Second, they're shorthanded, which means they might rely on the zone a bit more with lesser defenders. 

Marcus Smart says busting the zone is a matter of “just really understanding what a zone is, what you’re looking for. Once you get in the middle. Got Rob down here in the dunker, so that helps a lot because most teams aren't  help of him, which means if they're not helping off Rob and there's somebody in front of you, that one of the corners are open, and you just got to find it and find the right place to get the ball.”

It’s not hard, but it is hard work, because players actually have to move to get open. A flasher to the middle has to get the ball and then cutters have to cut or else nothing is going to happen. Every zone has gaps that can be attacked. 

2. Strong start against a banged up team: Miami is shorthanded but they still have some really good players on the floor and those guys can burn the Celtics if they come out with poor energy.

“What they lose with Butler and Tucker and some guys, toughness and obviously experiences, they’ll gain in other areas with shooting with Vincent, Strus, Robinson as well,” Udoka said. “So they'll attack you in a different way, still have a great deal of shooting on their team, Herro coming off the bench. And what they do is what they do, regardless of who's in or out for them. So can’t obviously relax.”

They need the right energy from the jump and they have to maintain it. This is a dangerous team regardless of who is on the floor.  

3. PLAY. WITH. PACE. It’s great to have energy but then it needs to be channeled appropriately. This ties into the zone-busting playbook, but it goes beyond just attacking a specific defense. It means constantly moving the ball and understanding that settling for jumpers isn’t going to cut it. 

I’m not saying jumpers are bad. I’m saying a large percentage of the time, the types of jumpers Boston gets are shots they take without probing for something better. Playing with pace means moving the ball and themselves all the time. 

“Our thing is being consistent, what we've done over the last few games defensively and offensively,” Udoka said. “Trying to play with the pace and and taking care of the ball like we have, that's a good winning formula for us.”

GAME THREAD

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