GAME PREVIEW: Miami Heat seeking to steal both games on the road

Miami upset the Boston Celtics in an impressive game 1 victory; looking to replicate that success tonight.

Game Story:

The Miami Heat are surging in this playoff run. All the struggles and close games that took place during the regular season have been paying off. From being down double digits in the 4th quarter of an elimination Play-In game against the Chicago Bulls, to now being up 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Boston Celtics.

This team is not your typical 8 seed, and although all the analytics and media are going against Miami, they don’t care about all that outside noise.

The Heat were down double digits at one point in the last game inside TD Garden, but stormed back to take back the lead and secure the win in the second half led by Jimmy Butler. Now, the team will try to do something they haven’t been able to do all playoffs; bring a 2-0 series lead back home to South Beach.

To do that, it starts with Butler making an impact on the game from the opening tip. In game 1, Miami was able to follow Butler’s lead and let him get to work. The “JIMVP” had a game high 35 points to go along with 7 assists, 6 steals and multiple clutch buckets.

However, it was a complete team effort. In fact, the Heat had 6 players score 15 or more points. That mark tied an NBA playoff record.

The squad has looked so together and locked in both on and off the court. A balanced attack offensively from Bam Adebayo and the rotation guys again would be huge.

Besides shooting the ball well, Miami has to do a better job at protecting the paint, getting defensive boards and limiting Boston in transition.

The Celtics were bullying the Heat in the paint badly during the first half of game 1. Robert Williams especially was causing havoc. Getting the talented young big man in foul trouble and keeping him off the offensive glass for Boston will be crucial going forward.

It is a very small injury report for both teams. Omer Yurtseven found his way on the report with a nose injury, but other than that it is just the usual Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo remaining out.

For Boston, Malcolm Brogdon is listed as probable due to a sore forearm.

Tonight’s game will be nationally televised on TNT.

Injury Report:

MIAMI:

• Omer Yurtseven (nose) — QUESTIONABLE

• Tyler Herro (hand) — OUT

• Victor Oladipo (knee) — OUT

BOSTON:

• Malcolm Brogdon (forearm) — PROBABLE

• Danilo Gallinari (knee) — OUT

Probable Starters (at time of publishing):

MIAMI:

• Jimmy Butler

• Kevin Love

• Bam Adebayo

• Max Strus

• Gabe Vincent

BOSTON:

• Jayson Tatum

• Al Horford

• Robert Williams |||

• Jaylen Brown

• Marcus Smart

ODDS (via FanDuel)

Check the odds out at FanDuel!

Broadcast Info:

Tipoff: 8:30 PM EST

TV: TNT

Radio: AM 560 Sports WQAM & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson)

Spanish Radio: WAQI 710 AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda)

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