Game 4 between the top seed Boston Celtics and the number eight seed Miami Heat will take place Monday night. The Boston Celtics took back home court advantage by defeating the Heat 104-84 in Miami in game three. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics, scoring 22 points each. Boston was able to answer the call after their game two defeat by easily covering a 9.5-point spread. It was a well-balanced and dominant victory for Boston who led for the entirety of the game.
Game four is not an elimination game but it does feel like a must-win game for the Miami Heat. If the Heat feel they have any chance in this series, they cannot go back to Boston after losing both games at home. Miami will need to try to replicate what they did in game two. The problem with that is the Heat’s output in game two is not easy to match. They went 23-43 from three in game two and all five starters were in double figures for scoring. Jimmy Butler is still out recovering from an ACL strain, so Miami again will need to rely on their role players. Bam Adebayo has been the Heat’s most consistent scorer in this series, averaging a little over 21 points per game. Adebayo will need to continue to work the inside against Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis as the Heat hope their shooters can catch fire again. For my pick, I don’t anticipate the Heat keeping this game close. I believe they got their one win in game two, and Boston will win the rest of the games before advancing in five. Without Butler on the court, Miami is left without a leader. I expect head coach Erik Spoelstra to have the Heat throw up a ridiculous amount of threes again in game four. The Celtics are a physical and smart defense that learned their lesson in game two. 53% from three is a number Miami won’t be able to replicate. The Celtics will close out on shooters tonight like they did in game three and I have the Celtics winning this game convincingly as they continue to try and avenge 2023 Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Heat.
