The Celtics will be anxiously monitoring the injury to Rajob Rondo knowing that a loss tonight will leave them struggling back in South Beach. The Heat will be keen to get back to their form from the first two games.
Boston returned to its 2010 Eastern Conference champion form in Game 3, easily defeating the Miami Heat and getting back in this series. The Celtics now have a chance to send this series back to South Beach tied at two, as they host Miami in Game 4.
Miami Heat
The Big Three of Miami (James, Wade, Bosh) dominated the Big Three of Boston (Garnett, Pierce, Allen) in Game 2, outscoring them 80-36. However, Game 3 was a different story. Miami’s Big Three were outscored 70-44 as the Celtics clamped down defensively, holding them to 15-for-41 (36.6%) shooting from the field. The 44 points scored by them is their lowest total of the season. Miami was also cold from three-point range, making just 5-of-23 shots. They also have not figured out how to score in the TD Garden, as three of their four lowest scoring games this season have come at Boston.
Boston Celtics
Despite losing Rajon Rondo to a dislocated elbow in the second half, the Boston Celtics still kept their head, and then miraculously watched their teammate exit the dressing room and return to the floor. Rondo has made a huge difference for the Celtics this series as they are shooting 15-for-19 from three-point range (5-of-6 in Game 3) off of his passes, compared to 12-of-33 on other shots from behind the arc. Kevin Garnett came to play in Game 3, as his 28 points was his highest output in a playoff game since dropping 33 on the Pistons in Game 5 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals. Garnett made 9-of-13 shots from inside 10 feet in Game 3, after taking just a combined 11 shots from that distance in the first two games of this series.
Doc Rivers stated that Shaquille O’Neal (calf), Rondo (elbow) and Delonte West (shoulder) are all likely to play Monday in Game 4. O’Neal finally returned to the court Saturday, but only played eight minutes and scored two points.
Out with the old?
I didn’t think the Celtics had a performance like Game 3 in them, but they proved me wrong and showed that they still are a force to be reckoned with. After sleepwalking through the first two games of this series, Kevin Garnett showed he still can make a difference. It’s not hard to think the Celtics can repeat this performance, judging by the way they have dominated the Heat at home all season. However, Miami needs to prove it is the team to beat in Eastern Conference, and defeating the Celtics at the Garden is a huge check mark on their to-do list in order to get there. Despite its struggles in Beantown this season, I like Miami to take a 3-1 series lead back home.
The NBA betting stats shows two-highly rated trends supporting the Heat on Monday:
BOSTON is 7-25 ATS (21.9%, -20.5 Units) after a win by 10 points or more this season. The average score was BOSTON 91.7, OPPONENT 91.6 - (Rating = 4*).
Play On - Road favorites (MIAMI) - good team - outscoring their opponents by 3+ points/game, after a blowout loss by 15 points or more. (52-20 over the last 5 seasons.) (72.2%, +30 units. Rating = 3*).