Boston Celtics (-3.5) vs Miami Heat

Game Total: 213.5

Heat lead series 3-1

The story of Game 4 was obviously Tyler Herro as the Miami rookie scored a game high 37 points on 14-of-21 shooting while adding six rebounds and three assists. He carried Miami to the victory hitting big shot after big shot while Boston made it's late game charge. The other story of this game was the turnovers as the Celtics turned the ball over 19 times compared to the Heat eight. On the night Boston actually shot better than Miami from the floor and three-point line but attempted six less free-throws. Celtics start Jayson Tatum failed to score a point until the third quarter and still managed to finish with a team high 28. Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker also scored 21 and 20 points respectively. Gordon Hayward looked good in his second game back, scoring 14 points with seven boards over 30 minutes while Marcus Smart struggled, scoring just 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting while going just 1-for-8 from three-point range.

Please note the players below are listed in order by rank. If a player is not listed that does not mean that are a full fade.

MVP/CPT

1. Jimmy Butler - I am a believer that Butler is going to be a series closer tonight. We saw him pop off a few times against the Bucks for 30 and 40 actual points but in this series he has been largely contained to solid but not outstanding performances. I see that going in a different direction tonight with Miami one game away from reaching the finals. I think he will be the games top scorerer. 

2. Jayson Tatum - I haven't really gone to Tatum as an MVP/CPT pick yet because he is just so expensive but like Butler, I think Tatum comes out with a big time performance tonight in an effort to extend this series. Ultimately I think the Celtics still lose but I could easily see a 30/10 game out of Tatum here tonight while contributing across the stat sheet.

3. Tyler Herro - Why not? The kid has been great off the bench pretty much all season and throughout the playoffs. Is it likely he drops 37 poitns again? Nope, but he is a great rebounding guard that can clearly score the basketball from all over the floor. Miami is also going to give him a boat load of minutes. If looking to save a little money I see no reason not to run it back.

Mid-Tier

1. Jaylen Brown - Brown has been one of the most efficient players for the Celtics in this series but often times finds himself as the third or even fourth scoring option. After his great Game 3 I do see him taking a step forward here in Game 5 and being more aggressive when the ball is in his hands. His primary job in this series has been to defend Jimmy Butler but I can see him taking more shots tonight.

2. Goran Dragic - I told you in the Game 4 write-up that Dragic was going to have a bounce back game and that held true as he dropped 22 points with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. I again think another 20+ night will be in the works as the Celtics will be spread too thin to stick Marcus Smart on him all night long.

3. Kemba Walker - Walker has 20+ points now in three straight games. While I think Tatum is the team's leader tonight I see Walker really looking to push the game here tonight as well. The veteran guard is getting his first taste of real playoff action and with a trip to the finals on the line I see him being aggressive here against a Heat back court that isn't strong defensively.

Dart Throw

1. Gordon Hayward - Ok, so it's not REALLY a true dart throw given his role and the caliber of player that he is but in an elimination game I don't see many of the other role players seeing much time. He is the cheapest of the core group that I trust and he has gotten better with each game played. If the shot gets more comfortable in Game 5 then maybe Boston really pulls this one off.

2. Marcus Smart - Smart put up a big stinker in Game 4 and could likely be blamed for the team's loss as he went 1-for-8 from three-point range and had some awful turnovers in this one. When players have bad games we often see them bounce back with good ones to make up for it. Smart is an aggressive player on both ends of the floor and that generally provides a nice base level of production for him.