Tip-off: Monday, 7:35 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

The Heat will be looking to get back on track with a win over the Celtics on Monday night.

The Celtics hosted the Spurs on Friday and lost 109-103 as 3.5-point home underdogs. Boston had, however, won-and-covered in three straight before that loss. This team is clicking right now and will look to get right back into the win column against the Heat on Monday. Miami, meanwhile, has really been struggling recently. The Heat have lost three of their past four games both SU and ATS, and this team is depleted with injuries right now. PG Goran Dragic (Elbow) is questionable for the Heat in this game, and SF Justise Winslow (Wrist) is expected to be out. It’d be really tough for Miami to get back on track without Dragic. Also working against the Heat is the fact that the Celtics are an impressive 23-9 ATS after a game where they made 12 or more threes over the past three seasons. Fortunately for Miami, the Celtics are also a lousy 7-17 ATS after a game with 30 or more assists in that span. Boston has had the best of this head-to-head series in recent years, as the Celtics are 4-3 both SU and ATS when facing the Heat over the past three seasons. That includes a 2-1 record both SU and ATS when playing in Miami. C Al Horford (Personal) is out for the Celtics in this game.

The Celtics have been better since C Al Horford (14.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 5.1 APG, 2.6 BPG) returned, but the big man will not be playing on Monday. With that being the case, PG Isaiah Thomas (26.1 PPG, 6.3 APG) would be wise to attack the basket whenever he gets a chance. Thomas can, however, beat this Heat team from deep, as he is knocking down 2.3 threes per game this season, and he knows how to get his shot off. He'll need to find a way to get hot in this one, as it's hard to imagine the Celtics winning without him putting up 30. One guy that just might be the x-factor in this one is SG Marcus Smart (9.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.4 SPG). The Heat have a bunch of guys that can score from the perimeter, so this game could come down to Smart’s ability to defend wing. He is one of the more irritating guys to be guarded by in the league, and Smart will need to continue to get under his opponent’s skin on Monday.

The Heat are not playing well right now, but they will hope to dig out of their hole with a home victory on Monday. C Hassan Whiteside (16.8 PPG, 14.9 RPG, 2.5 BPG) is the guy that will need to put his team on his back in this one. Whiteside has a major mismatch in the paint, as he is far too big and strong for any of the Celtics players to truly handle in the post. Miami must identify when he has position in the paint, as it’s important that he gets his touches at the right times. The status of PG Goran Dragic (15.3 PPG, 5.6 APG) is going to be important in this game too. Dragic is the Heat’s second-best player by a wide margin and Miami is just not talented enough to win many games when he is not on the floor. If he does play then he will use his size to get buckets at the rim against the smaller Thomas.