Hear what TNT’s Charles Barkley says he will do if they lose to miami heat tonight
TNT’s Charles Barkley said it will be an epic fail if the top-seeded Boston Celtics fall tonight against the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Heat are playing without Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Jaime Jaquez, three of their top scorers.
“Without Butler and Jaquez, if they lose this game, if they don’t win this game, I’m off the bandwagon,” Barkley said.
Barkley’s co-host, Shaquille O’Neal, is one of the few who think the Heat have a chance tonight. He picked them to win if it’s a close game.
“They definitely believe they can win, especially offensively,” O’Neal said. “If they have another game like they had in Game 2, of course they can win. We know they’re going to play hard. We know they’re going to play together .. They’re not going to give up. If the game is close toward the end, I’m going with Miami.”
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Where: TD Garden, Boston
TV: TNT, Bally Sports
Betting line: Heat +14.5
Vitals: The Heat and Celtics met three times this regular season with Boston winning each matchup. The Heat are 53-83 all-time versus the Celtics during the regular season, including 30-40 in home games and 23-43 in road games. The teams enter this postseason having faced each other six times in the playoffs, including four times in the Eastern Conference Finals (2012, 2020, 2022, 2023), once in the Semifinals (2011) and once in the First Round (2010). The HEAT has recorded a 4-2 playoff series record against Boston over that span, resulting in a 20-17 postseason record against the Celtics .This is the fourth time in five years the Heat and Celtics have met in the playoffs. The Celtics lead the series 3-1.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
G Delon Wright
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Caleb Martin
F Nikola Jovic
CELTICS
F Jayson Tatum
F Jaylen Brown
C Kristaps Porzingis
G Jrue Holiday
G Derrick White
INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Josh Richardson: Out – Right Shoulder Surgery
Jimmy Butler: Out – Knee
Terry Rozier: Out – Neck Spasms
Jaime Jaquez: Out – Hip
CELTICS
Kristaps Porzingis: Questionable – Foot
QUOTABLE: Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on Game 5: “We’ve proven we can win a bunch of different ways. But I think we have a game. I think we have an offensive game in us .. Our guys really want to get things back to Miami and have just a great game in front of our fans. I know it. Guys have talked about it. That’s what we’ll focus on.”
