The Boston Celtics find themselves in an unexpected 2-0 series hole against the Miami Heat, setting the stage for Game 3, which will likely make or break Boston's season. Win this game, and they still have a fighting shot of figuring things out. Lose, and the season is all but over. So with that in mind, we will lay out our Celtics Game 3 predictions.

The Celtics have gotten off to about as bad of a start as they possibly could against the Heat, throwing away double-digit leads in both games and losing home-court advantage in the process. Granted, home-court advantage hasn't really meant anything for the C's throughout these playoffs, but playing in front of riled up fans may actually help the Heat like it should have helped the Celtics.

Winning against the Heat is always tough, but the Celtics have put themselves in an extremely tight spot, and they don't have a lot of wiggle room in Game 3. The margin for error is basically gone, and while the Celtics have responded well to adversity throughout these playoffs, this situation feels much different. So with Game 3 on the horizon, let's look at three bold Celtics predictions for this game.

3. Robert Williams III will start in place of Al Horford for the Celtics

It's only been a two game sample, but it's been very tough to ignore the difference in play between Boston's top two big men early on against the Heat. After doing a great job locking up Joel Embiid against the Philadelphia 76ers, Al Horford has been awful early on against the Heat, while Robert Williams III has been phenomenal so far. And yet, the Celtics continue to stick with Horford, who can't buy a three or play solid interior defense right now.

Horford has made just four of his 13 shots through two games, including just one of his eight threes, highlighting a continued concerning trend for the veteran center. All throughout the postseason, Horford has been particularly awful when it comes to shooting the three-ball, which is all he's really asked to do at this point on offense. After another 0/3 night behind the arc, Horford is shooting just 28.8 percent on threes in the playoffs.

Williams has been a bit iffy defensively early on, but he adds an element to Boston's offense that has been helping break the Heat's zone. Williams has scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, in Games 1 & 2, and he hasn't missed a shot from the field to this point. With Derrick White reentering the starting lineup in the second half of Game 2, it feels like the best thing to do would be to swap Williams in for Horford and run a smaller lineup to start Game 3.

2. Jaylen Brown will bounce back with a 30-point outing for the Celtics

A lot went wrong for the Celtics in this game, but if they got even a little bit of production from Jaylen Brown, they likely would have won the game. Brown finished the night with just 16 points on a horrid 7/23 shooting, and it's not exactly a stretch to suggest that this was the worst game of Brown's entire career.

Brown had been fantastic throughout the playoffs up until they ran into the Heat, and Boston needs him to step up if they are going to pull off this comeback against Miami. If it's just Jayson Tatum trying to lead Boston to victory, the Celtics are going to find themselves in a similar predicament as the one they found themselves in throughout Game 2.

Is it reasonable to expect Brown to put together a bounce back performance in Game 3? Given how good he's looked throughout the playoffs, and the fact that he's missing tons of shots he usually hits, it's not the most outrageous suggestion ever made. After an ice-cold outing in Game 2, look for Brown to respond with a 30-bomb in Game 3.

1. The Celtics will pick up a much-needed 123-107 win over the Heat

Picking against the Heat feels like a foolish decision, but if there's a time for the Celtics to come out swinging, it's going to be Game 3. The C's have treated the first two games as if they were regular season outings against an inferior opponent, so maybe they will actually treat Game 3 like the must-win contest it is. Consider me the optimist in this scenario.

Through two games, the Celtics have underperformed to an extremely high degree. Their defense was abysmal in Game 1, whereas their offense let them down in Game 2. The Heat are certainly exceeding expectations in a way that they have managed to do all throughout the playoffs, and while they have proven they can continue to do that, Boston has shown their ceiling is higher than Miami's when they want to actually play winning basketball.

Chances are the Celtics have already lost this series, but there's too much talent on this roster for them to not pick up a single win. If they are going to win a game, it's going to be Game 3. The C's will throw their best punch at the Heat, and a nice bounce back outing from Brown, combined with more strong play from Tatum, will lead to a big 123-107 victory over Miami.