You don’t get many bigger games than this one at the end of February
When talking about big games at the end February, this is one of the rare few. The Boston Celtics at 34-25 lead the Miami Heat by one game in the Eastern Conference standings, who are 32-25. The Celtics are coming off a win against the Milwaukee Bucks to start their home stand, while the Heat took the Golden State Warriors to the wire before falling 118-112.
Boston will once again be without Kelly Olynyk.
Miami will have Dwayne Wade back for the second straight game, but Chris Bosh is still sidelined with a blood clot.
The Celtics defeated the Heat in their only meeting this season, winning 105-95. Avery Bradley was the star of that game as he scored 25 points in the win, while Isaiah Thomas was an assist shy of a double-double.
The X-Factor in this game for the Celtics is Jared Sullinger. Since the all-star break, he has seen a lot more playing time. Sullinger has recorded at least 29 minutes in three of the first four games following the break, including two double-doubles. He was only a point shy of a double-double against the Utah Jazz, as well.
Sullinger has been rebounding at a higher rate for the Celtics over the past six games, something that will need to continue against Hassan Whiteside. He has recorded at least 10 rebounds in five of the past six games for Boston, bringing his average to 8.5 rebounds per game. However, Hassan Whiteside is fourth in the NBA in rebounds per game, grabbing 11.4 per contest. Sullinger will have his hands full as he’ll have to try to contain Whiteside on the glass. His big body should help a little, but Whiteside has one of the largest wingspans in the NBA.
Besides Whiteside’s rebounding, he leads the league with four blocks per game. If Sullinger isn’t able to get him out of the paint, which is very hard to do, then Isaiah Thomas and fellow guards will have a hard time finishing at the rim.
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The X-Factor for the Miami Heat is Dwayne Wade. There’s no doubt that injuries and old age are starting to catch up with Wade, however, he is still capable of being a team’s star player. He has been able to show this by averaging the second most points per game on the team, 18.9 points on 45.3 percent shooting. Wade once again drank from the fountain of youth a couple of nights ago when he scored 32 points against the Warriors.
Wade also averages nearly two more points when the Heat win, even more important now with Bosh sidelined. Goran Dragic has had a disappointing season for the Heat thus far, and Whiteside isn’t a go-to player on the offensive end. The Heat don’t have any other big-time offensive players with Bosh out, leaving more pressure on the shoulders of the aging D-Wade.
The Heat have surprised a lot of people with how well they have played this season. They’re right there with Boston in the standings, but it’s yet to be seen how big of an impact Bosh’s absence will be. With that being said, the Celtics fast-paced, shooting offense is a perfect way to counter the beast inside, Hassan Whiteside.
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The Garden should be rocking for this one on Saturday afternoon. The Celtics need to start playing better after getting off to a rocky start following the all-star break, and this would be the perfect way to do it.