How we see it goin' down: Celtics vs Heat

Tip: 7:30PM Court: American Airlines Arena Watch it: CSNNE Hear it: 98.5 The Sports Hub

Referees: David Jones, Tony Brown, Lauren Holtkamp

Line: BOS +9.5 (o/u 199)

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The Matchup


Record: 14-28	Record: 29-12
On road: 5-16	At home: 16-3
Streak: Lost 2	Streak: Lost 1

Leaders	Leaders
Buckets: Green (15.8 ppg)	Buckets: James (26.1 ppg)
Boards: Sullinger (7.8 rpg)	Boards: James, Bosh (6.7 rpg)
Dimes: Rondo (4.0 apg)	Dimes: James (6.6 apg)

For the Stat Geeks:	For the Stat Geeks:
Offensive Rating: 101.8 (24th NBA)	Offensive Rating: 110.9 (2nd NBA)
Defensive Rating: 105.7 (14th NBA)	Defensive Rating: 105.1 (11th NBA)
Pace: 93.4 (18th NBA)	Pace: 92.8 (20th NBA)

Last time

Thanks to a three-pointer that Jeff Green dropped right in LeBron’s grill, the Celtics edged the Heat 111-110 back in November. It was (and likely will remain) the high point of this season.

This time

Get it to: Jared Sullinger

We desperately need Sully to snap out of his funk. He’s averaging 11.8 ppg on 38% shooting in January. If he can push around Bosh a bit and score in the paint, there might be more space on the perimeter for our shooters. The Heat rank 25th in the league in 3-point defense.

Gotta stop: Dwyane Wade

D-Wade has sat out 3 of the last 5 games due to “general soreness.” If he’s back and rested, we’ll need Avery Bradley at the peak of his defensive prowess. Wade is shooting 54% and 42% from 3 FG this season.

The Wild Card: Rajon Rondo

Not surprisingly, Rajon has looked rusty in his first few games back from the knee injury. Given the fact he despises Miami, I bet he ramps up his game a notch or two. His minutes restriction has increased from 18-20 to 20-25.

The Wild Card II: Joel Anthony

Clean off the cobwebs and throw him up against his former team. Best case scenario: he hits a few foul line jumpers, grabs a half dozen rebounds, blocks 2 shots and commits some hard fouls.