The Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards are tied at two games apiece with both teams taking care of home court. Game 5 will be a major deciding factor since the winners of Game 5s usually go on to win the series. Both teams are expected to bring plenty of intensity, energy, and grit.
Wizards must sustain the lead
In Games 1 and 2, the Wizards jumped out to early leads behind flawless offensive play, but those leads quickly evaporated when the Celtics raised their energy level and defensive intensity, as Washington melted down under pressure. However, even though the Wizards crumbled, they still maintained control of the game until the fourth quarter.
In Game 1, Jae Crowder and isaiah thomas caught fire from beyond the arc to overcome Washington, who didn't have an answer to Thomas' high screen and rolls. In Game 2, the game went into overtime where the Wizards completely crumbled again. Thomas scored 53 points, including 29 points combined in the fourth and overtime periods, to lead Boston to a victory.
The theme of Games 1 and 2 at TD Garden was exactly the same for the Wizards -- take a huge early advantage, lose the lead but maintain control, and then totally meltdown in crunch time. After demolishing the Celtics at the Verizon Center, the Wizards should be coming into Game 5 with more momentum and confidence. If they jump out to another early lead, they must avoid crumbling under pressure again.
They need to remain composed and not allow the Boston crowd to intimidate them.
Wizards must win the rebounding battle
The Wizards must absolutely crush the Celtics on the boards if they want to steal a game in Boston. The Celtics are an atrocious rebounding team, so the Wizards should not allow the rebounding battle to be close.
On their home floor, Washington took care of business in the rebounding category, totally dominating the Celtics on the glass. However, in the first two games on the road, the Wizards only out-rebounded the Celtics by a combined number of three. That is inexcusable. If the Wizards were rebounding extremely well like they did at home, they could have had complete control of this series by now.
Isaiah Thomas' offensive prowess
The Celtics are going to ride Isaiah Thomas, who explodes offensively at home, for as long as they can in this game. The All-Star point guard single-handedly carried his team in Game 2 with 53 enormous points, besting John Wall, who scored 40. Boston will resort to plenty of screen and rolls again, putting Wizards center Marcin Gortat in tough situations. Either Thomas is going to get his own off those screens or he is going to breakdown the defense to find wide open teammates around the perimeter. The Wizards must be well prepared because Thomas offensive prowess is what sealed their faith in the first two outings.
Out West, we witnessed an extremely intense Game 5 that went to overtime and went down to the wire between the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets. This Game 5 in Boston promises to be the same. The Celtics and Wizards will tipoff at 8 pm Eastern Time on TNT.
