Boston Celtics: 3 players that will make or break Game 7 for C’s

The Boston Celtics blew a major opportunity Friday night, as they could have officially punched their ticket to the 2022 NBA Finals right on their home court in front of thousands of their faithful followers.

Sadly, this feat was ultimately not accomplished as the hungry Miami Heat, led by their All-Star and leader Jimmy Butler (47 points, nine rebounds, eight assists), crushed the C’s hopes, coming away with a hard-fought 111-103 victory.

Now, though this loss was certainly a downer, Ime Udoka and co. still have one more shot of advancing to the championship round with Sunday’s Game 7, winner-take-all affair.

At this point, the outcome of this upcoming contest is absolutely a coin flip, though, should Boston be locked in and at full strength, they should be able to squeak by the Heat and turn Golden State Warriors star, Draymond Green’s prediction into a reality.

Having said that, in order for them to pull out the highly coveted W, the shamrocks are going to need 3 players, in particular, to step up:

Boston Celtics player No. 1) Derrick White

Since an ugly start to the 2021-22 postseason, big-time trade deadline acquisition, Derrick White, has been a truly underrated asset for this rotation on both ends of the floor and, in Friday’s Game 6, he had arguably his best performance of his young Boston Celtics tenure, posting 22 points, five assists, three boards, three steals, and a block on 50 percent shooting from the floor and 57 percent shooting from deep.

Unfortunately, his efforts came in a losing effort, as the C’s ended up dropping the contest, but, to us at HH, they were certainly not in vain from a hope standpoint, for, if he can play like this, or something similar at least, in Game 7, the Heat could be in for a world of trouble.

Now, while his offensive production may automatically grab the bulk of the attention, it was his defensive efforts that have us believing he could be an absolutely vital part of Sunday’s affair, especially if Sixth Man of the Year, Tyler Herro, makes his way back onto the floor after a three-game absence.

If he’s on the floor, even at half strength, he’s going to command some considerable attention from Boston’s defense, and combatting him with their own sixth man would be a great start to addressing this scenario.