Tuesday night's Celtics-Heat game in Miami would appear to be a severe mismatch between a Boston team with the best record in the NBA and a Miami club that just ended a 15-game losing streak.
However, Boston is only a 6.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.comKevin Garnett again Tuesday. Garnett, who averages 19.2 points and a team-leading 9.9 rebounds, is still day-to-day with a strained abdominal muscle suffered during an 87-86 win over Minnesota on Friday.
The injury forced him to miss a game for the first time this season on Sunday, and Boston lost 96-93 at Orlando.
Garnett tried to convince coach Doc Rivers to allow him to play in Sunday's game, but Rivers wouldn't budge. And Rivers said it's unlikely Garnett will play against the Heat.
"That muscle in the stomach is not anything you play with," Rivers said. "From the history of other players that have had it, he can actually be injured and be out for a while. We're lucky that he caught it early enough.
"He may play Tuesday [at Miami], may. But I doubt that. I just think we go day to day with it. It's just not worth taking a chance."Boston is only 6-5 against teams from Miami's Southeast Division but is 2-0 against the Heat this year. Garnett had 26 points and 11 rebounds in a 92-91 home victory over Miami on Nov. 16 before scoring 23 points and grabbing nine boards in a 95-85 road win on Nov. 30.
"Obviously Kevin is the heart and soul of what we do," said Celtics guard Ray Allen.
The potential absence of Garnett means Allen and Paul Pierce will try to carry the scoring load. Pierce scored 24 points Sunday, but that was just the second time in 11 games he's had more than 20 and he is 5-for-18 from 3-point range over the last four games.
During that same span, Allen has been held to an average of 16.3 points while shooting 35.8 percent from the field.
So Boston may need James Posey to again pick up the slack. The forward, averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds and shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range in 22.7 minutes per game, had had 16 points, nailed 4 of 6 3-pointers, and grabbed 6 rebounds in 26 minutes in Sunday's loss.
The 9-33 Heat are coming off a 98-96 victory over Indiana on Saturday that ended their 15-game losing streak.
Dwyane Wade scored 35 points in that game and will need to carry the load with Shaquille O'Neal sidelined. The All-Star guard is averaging 32.6 points over the last five games.
The last time Miami recorded consecutive victories was Dec. 9-10.
Bet on the NBA at WagerWeb.com because it likely will be without MVP candidate
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