The Miami Heat will look to bounce back as they visit TD Garden and take on the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference Finals. Ahead of Saturday night's game, we'll be making out Heat Game 3 bold predictions.
Miami had a rough outing in Game 2 as the Celtics obliterated them last Thursday to the tune of a 127-102 beatdown. Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with 27 points, while Marcus Smart had a near triple-double of 24 points, nine rebounds, and 12 assists. Jimmy Butler was the lone star for Miami in Game 2, as he continued his magnificent postseason with a game-high 29 points. Gabe Vincent, who has stepped into the starting unit for the injured Kyle Lowry, was the only other Heat starter to score in double-figures with 14 points. Bam Adebayo's struggles for Miami continue as he had just six points and nine rebounds in on just six shot attempts.
The no. 1 seeded Heat will need to steal one in Boston if they want to regain homecourt advantage. It will be a tall task because of the raucous environment at TD Garden as well as their injury woes as of late. But if there is any team in the NBA that has displayed resiliency all season long, it's Miami. With that said, here are three bold Heat predictions for Game 3 against the Celtics on Saturday night.
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3 bold Heat predictions for Game 3 vs. Celtics
1. Duncan Robinson will play and have an explosive game
Duncan Robinson has been supplanted in the Miami Heat rotation in the 2022 NBA playoffs. After starting in 68 regular-season games, the sharpshooter has appeared sporadically in the postseason. He has averaged just around 11 minutes in nine games. Much of Robinson's benching is due to the emergence of Max Strus.
Strus has started in each of Miami's 13 postseason games and is taking advantage of the opportunity, averaging 11.9 points in nearly 30 minutes a night. The 6-foot-5 wing, however, is currently dealing with a hamstring strain. While he doesn't figure to miss time due to the injury, him being a bit hobbled should give Heat coach Erik Spoelstra a reason to consider putting Robinson back into the rotation.
Spoelstra did give Robinson some run in Game 2 versus Boston. The 6-foot-7 shooter played all of his 14 minutes in the second half, tallying six points with five rebounds and three assists. Being out of the rotation for quite a while, Robinson did struggle with his shot, missing all of his four triple tries in the game. Despite that, the Heat seemed intent on letting Robinson regain his rhythm.
That could be a sign that Spoelstra could give him a look for Game 3. With that said, we're predicting Robinson goes off once again on Saturday night. The 28-year-old actually opened the postseason with a 27-point explosion, making eight three-pointers against the Atlanta Hawks.
2. Jimmy Butler will outplay Jayson Tatum
As mentioned, Jimmy Butler has been magnificent in these playoffs. There's certainly a case that he is having the best postseason so far among the remaining players in the field. In 12 games, Butler is averaging 29.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 2.2 assists, while shooting a ridiculous 54.0 percent from the field.
Tatum, meanwhile, is right there with him with averages of 28.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists on 45.0 percent shooting and 38.8 shooting from three.
Butler dominated the Celtics in the second half of Game 1. He scored 17 points alone in the third quarter, outscoring the whole Celtics squad by three in that period. He ended up having 27 points in the second half and 41 on the evening.
Though the Celtics won Game 2 convincingly, Butler still scored more points and still put together an elite superstar performance. We predict Butler will continue to pour it on for Game 3. Like in Game 1, Butler will have Tatum's number on both ends of the floor.
3. Miami will win at least two quarters
Though this series is tied 1-1, the Heat have been outplayed by the Celtics for the most part. Miami has won just a grand total of one quarter in this series — that explosive third quarter in Game 1 where they outscored Boston 39-14. Meanwhile, the Celtics have won five quarters so far in this series.
The Heat were pummeled in the first half of Game 2, where they gave up 70 points while scoring just 45 points. The third and fourth periods of that contest ended in a tie, which could be a sign that the Heat can hang with Boston.
With the way they poured it on in that Game 1 third quarter, we think Miami will win at least two quarters in Boston. Doing so in a raucous TD Garden crowd could be tough, but the Heat have proven multiple times in the playoffs they can win convincingly on the road, as they did versus the Hawks and the Sixers in their previous series.
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