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Before you get to your Super Bowl parties between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, we are hoping New England gets a loss before the big game even happens. Here's our preview of Miami and Boston's second match-up of the season.
Details:
Miami Heat (20-26) @ Boston Celtics (16-29)
1:00 PM EST @ TD Garden in Boston, MA
Watch on SunSports
Shabazz Napier | PG | Avery Bradley |
Mario Chalmers | SG | Evan Turner |
Luol Deng | SF | Jae Crowder |
Chris Bosh | PF | Brandon Bass |
Hassan Whiteside | C | Jared Sullinger |
Previous Meetings:
December 21: Boston, 84 @ Miami, 100 -- View the GameStream
GAME PREVIEW
Without Dwyane Wade again, the Heat still have a chance to get a solid win on the road against the struggling Celtics. Boston has lost 6 of their last 9 games and are in the wake of trading their top two players (Jeff Green and Rajon Rondo) earlier this season. Miami, hasn't been much better.
On Friday night, the Heat allowed the Dallas Mavericks to go on a 37-2 run in the second half to watch their 12 point halftime lead slither away. Now, the Heat will be on the road for four straight games, a place they have been much better than at home.
The Heat beat the Celtics 5 weeks ago in Miami behind a strong performance from Luol Deng. The Heat's biggest advantage for Miami might be the weak interior defense by the Celtics. This could be another monster game for Hassan Whiteside, who had 14 rebounds in the first quarter against Tyson Chandler in the last game (he ended up with 24 rebounds). Whiteside has been the lone bright spot of the Heat's sub par season so far.
The Celtics are led by Jared Sullinger, who is a big body, but not overly tall. Whiteside will tower over him. Behind Sullinger, Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk also score in double figures. Rookie Marcus Smart has struggled to make much of a difference so far this season. Evan Turner has rejuvenated some of his career after a terrible second half of the season last year in Indiana. He is playing consistently and can make a difference.
Simply put, this is a game the Heat have to get. Losing to the Mavs at home, OK we get it. They are a good team. The Heat have to find a way to beat sub .500 teams even if they are one of them as well.
You can watch the game on SunSports, but make sure you come back here and join us on the GameThread before it starts!
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