Miami Heat

The Miami Heat have not gone to Markieff Morris against the Boston Celtics.

With Miami struggling the way they are, Marcus wonders if perhaps it's time to shake things up. The veteran forward struggled in his limited time, hitting just 33% of his shots from deep, which is primarily what Miami would be relying on him to do well if he were to see any time. Without Jimmy Butler playing at the elite level he has flashed at times this postseason, Miami has looked overmatched by a Boston Celtics team that flexes a stifling defense.

Chris Mannix and Howard Beck break down an ugly Eastern Conference finals that has been back and forth, and why Jayson Tatum is the key to the Celtics ...

And it is the one thing as you know, Chris, ’cause we talked about it in the weeks and months leading to the postseason, it was the one concern I had with the Heat. I admire the heck out of what they’re doing, but I don’t know if a team without an elite scorer can make it all the way in this league. So yeah, I think the Celtics win the next two. So I looked this up because I was curious: Jimmy averaged 21.4 points a game in the regular season. And I think that will play out over the rest of this series. He comes out, has 10 points in the first quarter, plays all 12 minutes, plays a lot of minutes in the first half. And the real outlier of the final four in these playoffs … I was looking this up, so Jimmy Butler, you and I both know, and he’s hurt right now, he’s dragging a little bit. So last year, Giannis, 28 points a game in the regular season. Howard Beck: I used to use as a reference point, when I try to explain to people and remind myself, Chris, that the playoffs are really unpredictable sometimes, and that no single game is necessarily indicative of a series. In fact, I would predict them to win the next two games of the series, if they are healthy-ish. But I was at Game 4 in Boston and my biggest takeaway, Howard, is that the Celtics are just better. They committed 24 turnovers in Game 3, that led to 33 points from Miami. They had the ball deflected 29 times, I think it was a playoff high for this year by Miami. They did it to themselves in Game 3. And that is protect the ball in Game 3.

The Miami Heat head into what is sizing up to a be a must-win Game 5 matchup in their Eastern Conference Finals slugfest with the Boston Celtics.

The Miami Heat have the means to stop Jayson Tatum or at least, slow him down. Of course, that seems to be P.J. Tucker, which is who you absolutely want. If you look at all of Tatum’s buckets in his 31-point Game 4 performance, none of them were scored while Adebayo, Butler, or Tucker, especially, were the primary or core defender. On top of just Tucker though, you feel comfortable if it’s either P.J., Jimmy Butler, or Bam Adebayo tasked with the matchup. That also speaks more towards the offense. That’s the bare minimum.

Heading into Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, it's hard not to think that the Bam Adebayo's early-career legacy is on the line for the Miami Heat.

Then, in Game 4, just five. In Game 2, just six. In Game 4, Bam only took five shots and finished with just nine points and six rebounds.

After the two teams alternated victories through the first four games of the series, Game 5 between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics is set for Wednesday ...

If you were watching this game and felt like the Heat couldn't throw a beach ball into the ocean, you were onto something. After scoring just 14 total points in Game 3 and 4 combined, Butler mustered just 13 points in what amounted to be Miami's most important game of the season. In addition to just missing shots, there was an overall lack of aggression from Butler, illustrated by the fact that he took just four total free throws in the game. Clearly, Boston will want to take care of business at home in Game 6 in order to avoid a do-or-die Game 7 in Miami. The Boston Celtics followed up their dominant Game 4 performance with a second straight commanding victory over the Miami Heat in Game 5 on Thursday night. Historically, teams that win Game 5 in that scenario go on to win the series nearly 82 percent of the time.

Miami announced Tyler Herro will not play Wednesday when the Heat face the Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals due to a groin injury he ...

This season, Herro has shot nearly 45% from the floor and averaged a career-high 20.7 points per game. Herro has been away from the court since 8:11 mark of the fourth quarter in Game 3 of the series Saturday. Entering Monday, Miami was looking to secure a 3-1 advantage before returning home. Miami announced Tyler Herro will not play Wednesday when the Heat face the Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals due to a groin injury he suffered in Game 3.