The Boston Celtics fell to the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals by a final score of 123-116. Despite outscoring Miami 91-77 through three-quarters of play, a 46-point third-quarter outburst by Jimmy Butler and company proved too much for the Shamrocks to overcome and, ultimately, had their home-court advantage stolen from them.

With Friday's second contest rapidly approaching, the Celtics are looking to bounce back from a disappointing series opener and even things up at 1-1 before heading on the road en route to South Beach for Games 3 and 4.

While it's anyone's guess how the upcoming bout will play out, today we at ClutchPoints present to you 3 bold predictions for Game 2 of this year's Eastern Conference Finals.

3. The Celtics will pull down 40+ rebounds

After utilizing a dual point-guard starting lineup throughout their first 11 games of the postseason, the Celtics opted to pivot to their 2022 NBA Finals run rotation with a first five consisting of Al Horford at power forward and Robert Williams at center.

Initially, this shakeup proved to be highly effective, as Boston went on to rattle off two consecutive wins during their semifinals bout against the Philadelphia 76ers and, ultimately, closed them out in Game 7 to advance to their second consecutive conference finals.

As was to be expected, utilizing both big men together proved to be quite an effective boost to their lacking rebounding efforts, as they automatically skyrocketed from pulling down 30.3 boards per game to 46.5.

In Game 1 against the Heat, however, their rebounding production seemed to resemble their first 11 games of the postseason, as they were outrebounded 35-34 on the night and were bested in this department during the pivotal third period 13-5, four of which came on the offensive glass which resulted in seven second-chance points during this span.

Their rebounding blunders were highlighted by Jayson Tatum during his post-game media session, which suggests this may already be a point of emphasis for the team as they prepare for Game 2.

In winning efforts during their current playoff run the Celtics are pulling down 47.8 rebounds per game. In losses, they are averaging just 37.3.

Already down 0-1 in this best-of-seven series, one should expect Boston to play with some serious urgency in Friday's upcoming contest, and a particular area they'll likely look to dominate is in the rebounding game, which has had a direct correlation with their success-rate up to this point.

2. Jayson Tatum will have 5+ assists

Easily one of the most confusing aspects of Game 1 was the lacking frequency with which Jayson Tatum touched the ball during Boston's offensive sets, particularly down the stretch.

While the counting stats may suggest he was quite active on the offensive side of the ball, as he finished the game with a team-high 30 points and hoisted the second-most shot attempts, outside of his scoring feats the All-Star wasn't much of a factor for his team on the more glamorous side of the floor, and it shows with his underwhelming one assist on the night.

This needs to change in Game 2, and we predict that it will.

The way in which Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra utilized Jimmy Butler on offense is the ideal blueprint Joe Mazzulla must follow when it comes to Tatum. Whether it was on shot attempts or simply just to keep the ball moving on a swing pass, it seemed as though every offensive possession saw Butler touch the ball.

There were plenty of times during Wednesday's contest where Jayson Tatum did not so much as get a hand into the action, particularly during the club's lowly third quarter where they scored just 25 points.

Getting the ball into your best player's hand automatically gets a defense on their toes and, considering the talent that the 25-year-old is, will more likely than not warrant a double or even a triple team. In such an event, supporting players will end up being left open where the highly improved passing skills of Jayson Tatum could prove to shine on through (averaging 4.9 assists this postseason).

To pull out a win on Friday, the Celtics will need their franchise cornerstone to be more than just a go-to scorer.

3. The Celtics will win Game 2

Should this be considered a “bold” prediction? With the way in which they gave away Game 1, you're dang right it should be.

Nevertheless, the fact still remains that regardless of their poor showing and harrowing mental lapse on Wednesday night, the Celtics will come out with a vengeance in Game 2 and secure their first win of the series.

Frankly, this team is simply too talented not to.

As suggested earlier, outside of their putrid third quarter, the Celtics were found soundly residing in the driver's seat during the contest, as they handily won three of the game's four quarters of action.

Arguably the biggest reason for their demise was their lacking rebounding efforts. If they were to have shored up this area of play and attacked the glass, their critical 12-minute blunder likely would not have happened and, in turn, they could have easily been the ones to have come away with a 1-0 series lead.

On top of all this, you'd have to go all the way back to the incredibly toxic final year of Kyrie Irving's tenure in Beantown back in 2019 to find the last time the Celtics lost two consecutive postseason games on their home floor.

With guys like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in tow, one should very much like Boston's chances of keeping this streak alive beyond Friday night, regardless of who's on the opposing side of the floor.