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Boston Celtics: 2 underrated players that must be accounted for in Game 4

By Mark Nilon

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 21: Kyle Lowry #7 of the Miami Heat reacts after a late basket in the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics in Game Three of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 21, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 21: Kyle Lowry #7 of the Miami Heat reacts after a late basket in the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics in Game Three of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 21, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images) /
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After a tremendous showing in Game 2 where they tied up the series in South Beach and neutralized Miami’s homecourt advantage, the Boston Celtics had a chance take a commanding 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals back on their home floor Saturday night which, prior to tip-off, seemed to be the odds makers’ prediction.

Unfortunately, the C’s came out alarmingly sluggish, digging themselves into a 24-7 deficit within the first seven minutes of action which, despite a late-game comeback attempt, proved to simply be a bit too steep of a hole to climb themselves out of.

Jimmy Butler stated the Heat were embarrassed in Thursday’s exhibition and vowed to “figure it out” in regard to finding a way in which they could bounce back quickly. Unfortunately for Boston, they managed to do exactly that, as Miami ended up winning the contest by a final score of 109-103.

Perhaps the most impressive part of their redemption showing was that they pulled out the victory without their star player in Butler down the stretch, as he was ruled out for the second half of the contest due to a reported knee injury.

Due to this unfortunate situation, Erik Spoelstra called upon the rest of his team to step up and guide the ball club across the finish line, and, while things weren’t all that smooth during the final 24 minutes of regulation–the Boston Celtics stormed back to cut the lead to just one with under three minutes left in the fourth period–ultimately, they did just enough to come out on top.

Now, as we approach Game 4, there’s a rather realistic chance that the Heat will either be without or will have a hobbled Butler in the rotation, which means that, in order for them to have a chance of pulling out the win on Monday, they’ll once again need some of their supporting players to step up and carry more weight than they may generally be used to.

While there are certainly some obvious choices such as Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro when it comes to players who could shoulder the load moving forward should their leader be less than 100 percent, we at HH actually believe that there are 2 underrated contributors found within the rotation that, if not accounted for, could inflict just as much damage as these aforementioned talents:

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