3 major concerns for the Boston Celtics heading into Game 6

The Boston Celtics managed to end the streak of seeing no consecutive victories in this Eastern Conference Finals, as they went on to win both Game 4 and Game 5 which, as a result, has them heading back to TD Garden for a Game 6 that, should they come away with their third-straight win, would punch their ticket to the 2022 NBA Finals.

Should this happen, it would be the first time since 2010 that the C’s will be participating in the championship round, and, with how they’ve been playing since the midway point of the regular season, many are under the impression that they have a strong chance of attaining banner No. 18 once this year is all said and done.

Having said that, before they can even think about parades this summer back on the streets of Boston, they have to come away from Friday night’s exhibition victorious and, if we’ve learned anything from this Miami Heat team, it’s that they certainly will not be going down without a fight.

Now, is it allowed for fans to head into the contest optimistic? Absolutely!

That said, we at HH are coming in with a completely objective mindset, and, while we may feel confident in this club’s chances of pulling away and advancing on their home turf, there are still 3 major concerns we have when it comes to Game 6:

Boston Celtics concern No. 1) Jayson Tatum’s shoulder

Just a few games ago, we witnessed franchise cornerstone, Jayson Tatum, collapse to the floor with what seemed to be an agonizing neck/ shoulder injury that, ultimately, had him heading to the locker room late in the fourth quarter.

Now, while he did manage to make his way back onto the court to end the contest, since then he has seemed a bit hesitant with his aggressiveness and shot selection, and in the beginning stages of Wednesday’s outing, we saw the All-Star clutching at his shoulder yet again after a slight collision with Kyle Lowry.

Ime Udoka was quick to send Derrick White to the scorer’s table to check into the game and replace the wing, but Tatum waved him off and stayed in. He would then later grasp at this same area late in the second after ramming into Caleb Martin on a drive to the hoop but, similar to his flare-up in the first period, he stayed in the game.

Though this does show that the pain that he’s been experiencing is somewhat manageable and can be played through if need be, this re-aggravation in Game 5 was the result of what seemed to be normal contact.

What concerns us is, when it comes to this do-or-die Game 6 for the Heat, one can only expect that they’ll look to be as aggressive as possible on both ends of the floor, for their season is on the line and, with guys like Jimmy Butler and P.J. Tucker in tow, you know this team will be giving everything they have to try and send things back to Miami for a Game 7.

If almost being subbed out twice was the result of some rather light physicality, one can only imagine what might happen should he be met with a bit more brute force.