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Things went from bad to worse for the Celtics, as a 44-point drubbing at the hands of the Cavaliers in Game 2 was followed up by the news that Boston's All-Star point guard, Isaiah Thomas, will miss the rest of the playoffs with a hip injury.

So, yeah. Not great.

The Cavs have looked like an unstoppable machine in the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals, and there's no reason to think that things will be any different in Sunday's Game 3 without Isaiah on the floor. The series certainly looks to be heading toward a sweep, but it will be interesting to see how the Celtics come out in Game 3.

Here are some things to watch.

Carbon copy of Warriors-Spurs Game 3

The massive favorite leads the series, 2-0. The underdog is without its best player. Sound familiar? We basically saw the same scenario on Saturday night, when the Spurs played the Warriors tough for a while, but eventually Golden State's talent kicked in and the game turned into the inevitable blowout. The same will likely be true for the Celtics, who will fight and scratch and claw without their leading scorer, but will likely eventually be put away for good by a lengthy Cavs run. The difference here is that the Celtics are on the road (the Spurs were at home), so if the Cavs get the crowd into it early, this thing might be over in a hurry.

Celtics better without Isaiah?

Let's face it -- they can't get much worse. The hope for the Celtics here is that Thomas' absence allows the team to lock in on defense and make things at least a little bit difficult for the Cavs, which they haven't done in two games so far. No Thomas means more minutes for Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier, significantly better defenders due to their relative size and versatility. Granted, it's been in limited minutes, but Celtics lineups with Rozier and Smart have put together much better defensive ratings than those with Isaiah Thomas. But even if the defense is better, they're still going to have to score to keep up with the Cavs. Look for Avery Bradley, Al Horford and Jae Crowder to pick up the offensive load.

Cavs can use Celtics to fine-tune

The Cavs have had a lot of days off this postseason -- that's what happens when you win every single game you play. So even though the two Eastern Conference finals games haven't been remotely close, and Game 3 might be the same, they're still valuable for Cleveland to work out kinks and get things straight before their inevitable potential matchup with the Warriors in the Finals. Kyrie Irving, for example, had been having a rough postseason shooting the basketball. But then in Game 2 he got hot, making 8-of-11 from the field en route to 23 points in just 30 minutes. Little things like that can help get the Cavs firing on all cylinders before the Finals. Perhaps in Game 3 Tyronn Lue will draw up some plays that focus on getting role players like J.R. Smith and Channing Frye going from the 3-point line.

Home sweet home?

The Cavs have been so good that they're actually hurting their fans. Check out this ridiculous piece of information:

Even if the Spurs somehow find a way to pull off a miraculous comeback against the Warriors, the Cavs will still open the Finals on the road. So that will be over a month with the defending champions playing just TWO games at home. Savor these next two games, Cleveland -- blowouts or not.