NBA playoffs 2022 - How the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat can take control of the East finals

What will be key as the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat each try to take control of a series tied 1-1 entering Saturday's Game 3 in Boston (8:30 p.m. ET on ABC)?

The first two games of the Eastern Conference finals in Miami couldn't have gone much differently. Playing without starters Al Horford and Marcus Smart in Game 1, the Celtics led at halftime but collapsed under a hail of turnovers in the third quarter of a double-digit loss dominated by Jimmy Butler's performance.

With both Horford and Smart back in the lineup for Game 2, Boston got off to a slow start but surged after going to smaller lineups with Grant Williams at power forward. Powered by relentless shot-making from long distance, the Celtics blew out the Heat to steal home-court advantage.

As we've seen so far this postseason, there are plenty more twists and turns to come in the series after the first two games. Let's take a closer look at some of the strategic elements to watch in Game 3 and beyond as Boston and Miami try to reach the NBA Finals.

Butler has been easily the best player in the playoffs thus far, averaging nearly 30 points per game while shooting an effective 58% from the field after accounting for the added value of his (surprisingly frequent) 3-point makes. He was as good as ever Thursday, scoring 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting, but no other Miami player scored more than 14 points. Four Boston players topped that mark.

More generally, the Heat have had difficulty scoring in the half-court offense when it's not Butler creating shots for himself or others. Their 94.2 offensive rating in half-court situations ranks 13th among the 16 playoff teams, according to Cleaning the Glass, far and away worst of those that advanced to the conference