at 
Miami Heat (10-11)  at  Boston Celtics (17-4)
Wednesday, November 30,  2022
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #22  Home Game #12
TV:  NBA-TV, NBCSB, BSSUN
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WAXY/WAQI
TD Garden



Probable Celtics Starters
PGSG SF PF C
PG: Marcus Smart
SG: Derrick White
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C:  Al Horford

Celtics Reserves
Malcolm Brogdon
Grant Williams
Sam Hauser
Payton Pritchard
Luke Kornet
Blake Griffin
Justin Jackson
Noah Vonleh

2 Way Players
JD Davison
Mfiondu Kabengele

Out/Injuries
Danilo Gallinari  (ACL)  out
Robert Williams III (knee) out
Jaylen Brown (neck) questionable

Head Coach (Interim)
Joe Mazzulla




Probable Heat Starters
PGSGSFPFC
PG:  Kyle Lowry
SG:  Tyler Herro
SF:  Max Strus
PF:   Caleb Martin
C:    Bam Adebayo 

Heat Reserves
Udonis Haslem

2 Way Players
Jamal Cain
Dru Smith

Injuries
Omer Yurtseven  (ankle) out
Victor Oladipo  (knee) out
Jimmy Butler (knee) out
Dewayne Dedmon (foot) questionable
Haywood Highsmith (ankle) questionable
Nikola Jovic  (foot) questionable
Duncan Robinson (ankle) questionable
Gabe Vincent (knee) questionable
Max Strus (shoulder) probable
Jamal Cain (illness) questionable
Tyler Herro (ankle) questionable

Head Coach
Erik Spoelstra

Game Notes
the Celtics host the Miami Heat in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals.  This is the 5th game of a 6 game home stand for the Celtics and the 2nd of a 4 game road trip for the Heat.  This is the 2nd of 4 games between these two teams this season.  The Celtics won the first meeting 111-104 in Miami. They will face the Heat once again on Friday for the final game in the home stand.  They will play the final game of the series on January 24 in Miami. 

The Celtics are 1st in the East, 2 games ahead of the second place Milwaukee Bucks.  The Celtics are 10-1 at home and 9-1 in their last 10 games.  They have won their last 4 games.   The Heat are in 10th place in the East.  They are 7 games behind the Celtics in the standings and 5.5 games ahead of last place.  They are 2-7 on the road and 6-4 in their last 10 games. 

The Heat last played on Sunday when they beat the Atlanta Hawks on the road.  Before that road win, the Heat had lost 7 straight road games.  The Celtics are looking to win their 10th straight home game.   The Celtics won the series 2-1 last season.   The Celtics are 79-51 overall, all time against the Heat and they are 41-22 in games played in Boston. 

Jaylen Brown (neck) and Al Horford (back) both missed Monday's win over the Hornets.  Horford is off of the injury list and is expected to play in this one.  Brown remains questionable for this game but I'm thinking he will play unless they are being very cautious with him.  If Brown doesn't play, expect Grant Williams to get the start once again.  Robert Williams (knee) and Danilo Gallinari also remain out for this game. 

As of now, the Heat have 12 players on the injury list.  I've listed the starters from their last game but Herro (ankle) and Strus (shoulder) are both listed as questionable.  Dedmon (foot), Highsmith (ankle), Jovic (foot), Robinson (ankle), Vincent (knee), and Cain (illness) are all also listed as questionable and are all listed as a game time decision.  Jimmy Butler (knee) is not with the team and listed as out,  but he is expected to play in Friday's game.

 Victor Oladipo (knee) and Omer Yurtseven (ankle) are both listed as out.  I'm expecting many of the questionable players to be available, otherwise they will have to postpone the game because the Heat won't have enough players.  Udonis Haslem and 2 Way player Dru Smith are the only players not questionable or out.  The massive injury list may just be Pat Riley trying to play mind games and get the Celtics to play poorly because they expect an injury ravaged team. 

Key Matchups
vs
Al Horford vs Bam Adebayo
Adebayo is averaging 20.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game.  He is shooting 53.0% from the field and has not attempted a 3 this season.  He is coming off back to back 30 point games.  He is dangerous around the basket to score and to grab rebounds.  The Celtics need to keep him out of the paint as well as off the boards.

vs
Derrick White vs Tyler Herro
Last year's Sixth Man of the Year is now in the starting lineup.  He is averaging 18.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.   He is shooting 42.5% from the field and 33.7% from beyond the arc.  He is a scorer and will have a big game if not defended well.  Derrick needs to stay with him both in the paint and on the perimeter. 
He is listed as questionable with ankle soreness but I think he will play. 

Honorable Mention
Marcus Smart vs Kyle Lowry
Lowry is averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He is shooting 38.9% from the field and 35.9% from beyond the arc.  Lowry has a way of showing up in big games and he loves playing against the Celtics.  The Celtics need to play him for the pass as well as the shot. 

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is always the biggest key to winning every game.  Both of these teams are capable of playing tough physical defense and both have not played their best defense this season.  The Celtics are 14th with a defensive rating of 111.9 while the Heat are 9th with a defensive rating of 110.2.   The Celtics need to play team defense and they have to make defense a priority.  The Celtics must get back to making defense their identity. 

Rebound - As with defense, rebounding will always be a key to winning.  Much of rebounding is effort and hustle and when the Celtics put out that extra effort to grab rebounds, it usually translates to other areas of the game as well.  The Heat average 41.2 rebounds per game (26th) while the Celtics average 41.7 rebounds per game (25th). The Celtics have to work harder on the boards than the Heat.   

Take Care of the Ball -   When the Celtics turn the ball over a lot they usually lose and when they don't turn the ball over they usually win.  The Celtics average 13.3 turnovers, which is 3rd in the league but they still have periods when they turn the ball over too much. They have to make crisp passes and be aware of the defenders who are very good at getting into the passing lanes.  They have to be careful when handling the ball and not dribble into a crowd and not get sloppy with the ball. The Heat average 19.2 points off turnovers per game and so if the Celtics get sloppy, the Heat will make them pay. 

Urgency and Effort - These are keys to winning most games.  If they play with urgency and put out extra effort, they have a good chance of winning the game.  The Heat often win their games by playing harder than their opponents more than by having more talent.  The Celtics have to be the team that plays harder and is more aggressive and plays with more urgency.   They can't expect to win because they beat them in the first game.

X-Factors
Home Game - The Celtics are playing in their fifth straight home game while the Heat are playing  in their second game on the road.  The Celtics should get a boost from the home crowd and from being on their familiar home court.  The Heat are 2-7 on the road and have to deal with all the distractions that come with playing on the road.   The Celtics can't assume that they will win because the Heat have struggled on the road.  They have to play hard and defend their home court. 

Injuries and Fatigue - As stated above, the Heat have an extensive injury list with 9 players questionable and 3 players out.  The Celtics can't take this team for granted because they are weakened by injuries.  They are a dangerous team, even with several players out.  The Celtics should be ok even if Jaylen Brown sits for another game.  the Heat have been off since Sunday but the Celtics are playing in the 3rd game in 4 nights and fatigue could become a factor. 

Coaching - The Heat have a top 10 coach, who has been with the Heat since 1997 and has been their head coach since 2008. He has 670 NBA wins and two championships as a head coach.   The Celtics' coach was just thrown into the head coaching spot weeks before the season and is coaching in his first season with 17 wins.  Joe Mazzulla out-coached Spoelstra in their first meeting.  Can he do it again in this one?

Officiating -Officiating is always an x-factor in every game. Every crew officiates differently. Some call it tight, others let them play. Some favor the home team. Some favor the road team. Some just make bad, head scratching calls. At times the officials have an agenda of some sort.  This season, it seems as though they have no patience for players complaining and have been calling techs very quickly for it. The Celtics need to adjust to the way the refs call the game and not let bad calls and no calls take them out of the game or affect their focus. Focus on playing the game and not on the officials.