Preview: Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat

The Boston Celtics will look to win their second straight with Thomas back against the Miami Heat

The Boston Celtics were going through one of their worst stretches of the season, and were on the verge of falling back to .500 for the first time in weeks. The Celtics had a strong Eastern Conference showdown against the Charlotte Hornets, and Isaiah Thomas returned just in time. The Celtics got back to their winning ways and it was largely thanks to Thomas putting in the necessary work on offense, along with Al Horford having one of his remarkable efficient and effective games in every single phase.

Next up, the Celtics get another Eastern Conference opponent, but it should be a lot easier. The Miami Heat are looking far from a playoff team this season, but they still have one player that every team in the world needs to account for, Hassan Whiteside.

The Celtics clearly need Thomas to be at their best, but it really does not help their rebounding woes. The Hornets almost won the game with their 17 offensive rebounds, and Whiteside will look to destroy the game in that area as the leagues leading rebounder. The Celtics do not even have two front court players that combine for the amount of rebounds Whiteside brings in each game. The Celtics can feel comfortable about Horford’s interior defense on Whiteside, but not a single player in the Celtics’ front court has proven they can be even an average rebounder.

The key for the Celtics will be finding a way to limit the offensive rebounds. The Celtics can live with Whiteside gobbling every up on the defensive glass, but the easiest way for them to blow this game is by allowing Whiteside to generate second chance opportunities.

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The Celtics should feel comfortable about their back court defense on Goran Dragic, and they may even try to move Jae Crowder around depending on which player needs the most attention in a particular moment. Whiteside is the lone player that the Celtics need to be worried about destroying this game, and they have a lot of favourable match ups in the back court.

Thomas did not miss a beat upon his return. He continues to be ferocious driving to the rim, and that continues to open things up on the outside. Whiteside’s length could be problematic for Thomas at the rim, but he has had to deal with seven footers guarding him all season long, and he is doing a great job of creating angles that are difficult to defend, thanks to his height.

The Heat rank 25th in forced turnovers this season, and the Celtics need to be able to attack that. Their offense has flourished with one of the best turnover to assist ratios in the league, and that needs to be how they attack in this one. With Whiteside’s ability to clog up the paint they will need to depend on open shots. The Celtics always want to be cautious with depending too much on a jump shot, but they have faith in their ball movement, particularly against a team that struggles to disrupt their opponent’s flow. Whiteside disrupts and contests a lot of shots, ball movement is how the Celtics will get the easy looks they need.

Nov 28, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) drives to the basket between Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (21) and Miami Heat guard Wayne Ellington (2) during the second half at American Airlines Arena. The Celtics won 111-102. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

The Celtics need their offense to be functioning at a high level and then they should have more than enough quality opportunities to outscore a Heat team that is the third lowest scoring team in the league. The Celtics want to play fast and play in rhythm, and with that they should be able to run away from the Heat.

While the Celtics should be able to get multiple advanatages with their offense, their defense could sruggle to generate extra opportunities. The Heat do not give up a lot of steals, they will try to slow down the Celtics and with Whiteside’s rebounding, they have multiple ways of limiting Boston’s extra opportunities, something they depend greatly on to make up for their shooting struggles.

The Heat play in a pace and style that could be problematic for the Celtics, but that is only if the Heat are the ones dictating the terms. Thomas looked great in his first game back and he will take on the majority of the responsibility in getting the entire offense to play how they need to. Thomas does not have any one individual one on one perimeter defender to worry about, but his concerns are more than just his own production in this game.

The Celtics love it when Thomas attacks and he is one of the best in the league at the rim and a getting to the line, but this game will get easier and easier the more they lean on ball movement and take advantage of their entire lineup, rather than attacking with one player.

Next: Boston Celtics Must Solve Rebounding Woes

The Celtics are back on the road and they have to make up a lot of the ground they lost because of injuries. They have returned to the three seed in the East, but the Raptors have been getting too much separation. With one of their recent loses being to the division rival, they cannot afford to be losing games to inferior teams. Fortunately, Boston’s issue have been with teams that have a better win percentage than .600, making the Heat a great opponent to start a much needed winning streak against.

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