Eastern Conference Finals Injury Report: Celtics vs Heat

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The top two Eastern Conference teams from the regular season showed their mettle in the first two rounds and now gear up to face off in the Eastern Conference Finals. The #1 seeded Miami Heat will face off against the #2 Boston Celtics for the third time ever in the Conference Finals and first time since 2020 where the Heat dispatched the Celtics in 6 games. The Heat have won all three series and will be looking for a fourth while the Celtics will try to build off the two regular season blowout wins against the Heat.

Boston Celtics SIC Health Score - 86.2

The Celtics jump right back into another series after a grueling 7 game dogfight with the defending champs, Milwaukee Bucks. The Green Machine operated as usual with lockdown defense and stellar play from perennial All-star Jayson Tatum. The Duke alum has take another step into NBA stardom averaging a whopping 28.3 points per game, 5.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists in the playoffs. He will be relied on heavily on the offensive end this series although the real issues for the Celtic linger on the defensive end.

Elite defenders Marcus Smart and Robert Williams are both nursing injuries which has caused the Celtics team health score to dip below 90.

Defensive player of the year Marcus Smart has been dealing with a quad contusion for most of the Bucks series but is now nursing a minor mid-foot sprain which he suffered last contest. The injury normally is bad news for any athlete and usually carries no chance to play as it is difficult to be effective on said injury. Although Smart is sporting a slight limp, the mechanism for injury shows a minor issue with the right foot kicking the floor hard after initial contact. The force is less than usual as this is a body weight type injury and although seen in a boot, this is not a worrisome site. The defensive wizard holds a SIC score of 83.

We hold cautious optimism that Smart can suit up but will not be 100% to start the series.

The other injury concern is big man Robert Williams who has recovering from a knee scope surgery. The center did return last series after missing the first but left the Bucks series prematurely after suffering a bone bruise Game 3. Williams returned to bench Game 7 but did not suit up but the expectation is the hustling center will play Game 1 against the Heat. Williams may not start as they will likely ease him back into action but with a SIC score of 78, getting 15-20 minutes out of him would be a huge boon for the Celtics defense. 

Miami Heat SIC Health Score - 87.3

The number one team in the Eastern Conference showed it through two rounds avoiding a Game 7 and only losing three times total. Star player Jimmy Butler has been excellent of late eliminating the 76ers last round on 27.5 points per game, 7.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists. The right knee inflammation that caused him to miss the last game of the first round seems to be behind him as he has showed no ill effectives of late. Although the All-star helps run the point at times the real injury issues for the Heat is at the PG position heading into the conference finals.

Villanova alum Kyle Lowry has been dealing with a bothersome hamstring injury since late in the Atlanta Hawks series and suffered a clear re-aggravation the injury during the 76ers series. The guard has already been ruled out for Game 1 and we believe at sicscore.com that his status may not change till much later in the series. The Heat have been perfectly fine without Lowry posting a 4-0 record in the playoffs which shows how strong the depth is in Miami. When he does return to the series, Lowry will hold a low SIC score of 31.

The depth has been listed on the injury report for most of the playoffs but all have played through their issues without missing time or looking less effective. All of Caleb Martin (ankle), Max Strus (hamstring), P.J. Tucker (calf), and Gabe Vincent (hamstring) will play as they have all offseason.

6th man of the year Tyler Herro was dealing with an illness and ankle ailment at that start of playoffs but has not missed a game or time, averaging 20.7 points off the bench.

The start of the series begins with the Heat favored by -2 points per FanDuel Sportsbook's NBA odds for Game 1. The series pricing clicks at -175 in favor with the Heat.