Celtics, Heat Collide For Game 2 On Wednesday
The Boston Celtics will host the Miami Heat at TD Garden on Wednesday in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal-round series. The Celtics lead the series 1-0.

The Celtics didn’t have problems establishing supremacy in the series opener and quickly grabbed a 1-0 lead after a 20-point win on Sunday. Even though Boston had six days of rest to prepare for this matchup, they looked dominant right out of the gate and didn’t give Miami a chance to fight back. Seeing the Celtics win this game easily was not a surprise, however, as the Celtics posted a league-best 37-4 mark at home during the regular season. Considering Boston is at full strength in its starting unit, it would be shocking if the team doesn’t produce a similar display in Game 2 of the series. A healthy 2-0 lead heading to South Beach would go a long way toward the Celtics being able to close the series out as quickly as possible.

The Celtics will be at full strength Wednesday, except for Luke Kornet, who is out with a calf injury and is considered “week-by-week.”

The Heat are doing the best they can in the current playoffs, but in reality, their chances of pulling an upset against the Celtics are slim to none, especially in the games played in Boston. The Heat might be able to steal a win at home if things break the right way for them, but even that scenario looks complicated without two of their best players, Terry Rozier and Jimmy Butler. Ultimately, the Heat don’t have the depth, the experience and the quality to go toe-to-toe against Boston in these conditions. The Heat are massive underdogs heading into this Game 2, and a repeat of the series opener, where they lost by 20 points, might not be an unreal scenario.

The Heat are listing Terry Rozier (neck) and Jimmy Butler (knee) as out, while Josh Richardson (shoulder) will miss the rest of the season.
Posted on: 4/23/2024 8:15 PM