On Saturday, the Boston Celtics hit the Miami Heat, 109-103.
The তাপ Miami heat Boston win for 2-1 ECF lead! https://t.co/daJoVEJHw7#NBAConference Finals Presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/4o5JbgA0Cg
– NBA (BANBA) May 22, 2022
With this win, the series went ahead.
The Miami series seems to be in control, but the Celtics could be back.
Before we take a look at how Boston got the chance, let’s review what we’ve seen so far.
It was a weird game from the point of view of both teams.
Miami climbed one point in the fourth quarter from the biggest lead of the series.
Jimmy Butler was out of court in the second half due to inflammation of his right knee.
Despite the absence of Butler, the hit gets a timely bucket from Max Strauss and left Adebayo at the end of the game.
Boston, meanwhile, have won 10 of the 12 quarters in the series and are trailing 2-1 in the series.
Robert Williams lost to Marcus Smart and Jason Tatum for parts of the Celtics game.
Then in the fourth quarter they scored 31 points.
However, getting the first win of the series at home was not enough for them.
Miami’s 39-point first quarter was enough to hit just six wins away from a championship.
The Eastern Conference Finals are seemingly going to be a long series, but the injury can tell the story.
So, could the Celtics come back against the heat?
How can the Celtics come back?
Tatam has been neutralized by PJ Taka so far in this series.
It is not easy for Celtics to succeed without Tatum playing well.
Here’s how the Boston star performed while being protected by money in 2021-22:
Jason Tatum has been guarded by PJ Tucker for 127 properties this season (regular season and playoffs).
He scored 15 points in those 127 innings. pic.twitter.com/iiM6G8mRyC
– StatMuse (atstatmuse) May 22, 2022
For Celtics fans, it may seem that Tatum was at times inconsistent.
On the bright side, another Celtic star had some poor offensive performances during Boston’s last championship race:
Some stat lines.
5-14, 3 turnover, loss
2-14, 6 turnover, loss
6-17, 1-2 free throws, rates
5-15, 6 turnover, loss
3-14, 4 turnover, loss
2-14, 3 turnover, lossPaul Pierce had six games during the 2008 play-off race that he finished as the final MVP. https://t.co/J6VVU45pzJ
– Shawn Grande (eSeanGrandePBP) May 22, 2022
The Celtics’ final MVP had some bad games during the 2008 playoffs.
Jaylen Brown picked up Slack in Game 3 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Final.
He had more points in his play-off career.
Brown scored 40 points in the 14-for-20 shooting.
He added nine rebounds.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, this was not enough.
Miami’s defense has made a difference.
Eric Spoelstra and his coaching staff are an impressive team.
Although both coaching staff are dealing with a number of injuries.
Going into the very important game 4, lots of players are stuck:
#NEBHI Injury Report For Game 4 vs Miami:
Sam Hauser (right shoulder instability episode) – Out
Marcus Smart (right ankle sprain) – questionable
Jason Tatum (Right Cervical Nerve Impingement) – Possible
Robert Williams (left knee pain) – questionable– Boston Celtics (Celtics) May 22, 2022
Smart and Williams could miss another game.
Either absence would be significant for the Celtics.
Meanwhile, for Miami, the team’s injury report is even longer:
#MIAvsBOS Injury Update: Jimmy Butler (knee), Kyle Lowry (hamstring), Max Strauss (hamstring), Gabe Vincent (hamstring), PJ Tucker (knee) and Tyler Hero (groin) are listed as questionable for tomorrow’s 4 vs game.
– Miami Hits (MiamiHits) May 22, 2022
It was not easy for the teams to stay healthy because of playing series every day.
For the Celtics to return, Tatum will need a better performance, who will hopefully not miss a single game.
In addition, it will be necessary to protect the basketball.
If Miami comes close to 19 steals again in this series, it could be for Boston.
The Celtics need better offenses.
They can’t approve live-ball turnover and easy buckets for Miami.
That recipe would be a Celtics return.