Boston is a better team than Miami. The Celtics are a much better team than Miami when the Heat doesn't have 7-foot center Hassan Whiteside, who will miss his fourth straight game due to a knee bruise.

The Celtics have swept the Heat each of the last two seasons. Boston went 4-0 against Miami last season winning by eight and 10 points, respectively, at American Airlines Arena. Whiteside, who is far and away Miami's best player and probably the top rim protector in the Eastern Conference, played in all four of those defeats.

The Heat win with defense. Their defense has suffered without Whiteside. Miami ranks third-from-last in defensive field goal percentage and second-to-last in 3-point defense. The Heat are yielding 108.5 points a game, which puts them in the bottom 10 in scoring defense.

The Celtics were stunned when Gordon Hayward went down in their opening game. It took the Celtics a couple of games to get over that and also for Brad Stevens to start finding the right rotation. After an 0-2 beginning, Boston has won and covered its last three games, including beating the Bucks on the road, 96-89, two nights ago in its last game.

Boston ranks 20 places higher than Miami in the latest defensive rankings. The Celtics don't have a powerful inside game, but Al Horford is off to a good start and Kyrie Irving can take advantage of Miami's vulnerable perimeter defense.

The Heat opened their season playing three probable lottery teams - Orlando, Indiana and Atlanta. They finally drew an elite foe, San Antonio, in their last game and lost by 17 points at home. The Celtics aren't in the Spurs' class. But they are at the next level, which is a clear level higher than the Heat especially when minus Whiteside.