Heat vs. Celtics: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Spread Info and More

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics will meet for the third time in the month of April as the NBA regular season winds down.

For the Heat's sake, they hope this meeting goes much better than the prior two.

Boston point guard Rajon Rondo shredded the Heat defense in a pair of Boston wins earlier in April, averaging nearly a triple-double with 17.0 points, 14.5 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game. If they can't contain Rondo on Tuesday, any chance the Heat have of leapfrogging the Chicago Bulls and claiming the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed can be thrown out the window.

Miami can still finish as the top team in the East by winning its final two games (Boston and Washington) and by having Chicago drop its final two (Indiana and Cleveland).

If Miami is content with being the No. 2 seed, its final two regular-season games could provide an opportunity for Erik Spoelstra to give LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade some needed rest entering the postseason. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Bosh won't play on account of a lingering hamstring injury, while James and Wade figure to sit after doing additional conditioning work following an extended pregame practice on Tuesday.

But the first priority is figuring out Rondo and the Celtics. Miami's had its problems with good point guards, and fixing that problem could go a long way to making a lengthy postseason run.

It's a big game for the Celtics as well, who have the Atlantic Division title locked up but are still playing for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

They're set to play the Atlanta Hawks in the first round and currently sit one game behind the Hawks in the race for home-court advantage.

Here's a look at everything you need to know about this big Eastern Conference matchup.

When: Tuesday, April 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET

Where: TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts

Watch: TNT

Live Stream: None

Betting Line (Per Sportsbook.com): Celtics -7.5 

Heat Key Injuries (Per CBS Sports)

Out: Chris Bosh (hamstring), Dwyane Wade (finger), Ronny Turiaf (hamstring), LeBron James (rest)

Celtics Key Injuries (Per CBS Sports)

Questionable: Ray Allen (ankle), Mickael Pietrus (knee), Rajon Rondo (wrist, back)

What They're Saying

It looks as if Doc Rivers has decided that home-court advantage isn't very important after sitting four starters and a key bench player on Friday against Atlanta.

The same could be said for Spoelstra, as he could be satisfied with the No. 2 seed for the Heat. He's held James, Wade and Bosh out of games over the weekend.

That could lead to Tuesday night's matchup being simply an exhibition, as key parts of both teams could be watching in street clothes.

ESPN's Peter May says given the quick turnaround between the end of the regular season and the beginning of the postseason, resting their key parts is far more important.

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Those who need the rest will get it. And those who don't need the rest may get it anyway. With such a short turnaround before the start of the playoffs—possibly one day, which could be a travel day—Rivers needs his lads to be as healthy as possible.

"

Even Miami star Wade seems content with the Heat players getting enough rest before the playoffs begin, saying "Second place is not a bad place to be."

Most Important Player to Watch: Keyon Dooling

Naturally, this would be reserved for Rondo, but if he's not going to play then Dooling will get the start at the point for the Celtics.

He got the start against Atlanta and had a good showing with 17 points, three assists and four steals, only turning the ball over three times. Rondo has had great success against Miami, and if Dooling does as well, it could possibly exploit a major weakness on the Miami defense.

Key Matchup: Avery Bradley vs. James Jones

This is another tough one. Typically I'd look at the Heat being able to stop Kevin Garnett or the Celtics being able to stop LeBron, but given the uncertainty of everyone's playing status, this matchup between Bradley and Jones could be big.

Jones started in the place of Wade on Sunday, and while his scoring is fairly unimportant, he will have to shut down Bradley, who scored a team-high 28 points against the Hawks on Friday.

Whoever gets the better end of this matchup could go a long way in determining the winner.

Prediction

Heat 93, Celtics 88