The Boston Celtics try to continue their run to another NBA Finals appearance when they host the Miami Heat for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday night.
Boston advanced to this round with a semifinal series win over the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games and are looking for a second straight trip to the NBA Finals.
Miami pulled a second straight upset by topping the New York Knicks in six games in the last round and is looking for its second NBA Finals trip in four seasons. This should be a tight series throughout, so read on to learn more about the matchup and get our best Heat vs Celtics prediction.
Heat vs Celtics Celtics Odds
NBA odds for today’s match
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Information
Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics
Location of the game: TD Garden, Boston, MA.
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 17. 8:30 PM ET.
How to watch: TNT
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Recent Scores
The regular-season series between these two East powers was a tight one, with both teams winning two of the four matchups. The home team was only 2-2 in this one, though all of the four meetings came before the end of January.
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Betting Analysis
Heat Looking To Apply Pressure
Miami has been able to get off to good starts in its first two series in this postseason, winning on the road against both Milwaukee and New York to take an early series lead and capture the home-court advantage. With the NBA schedule for playoffs giving the lower-seeded team a pair of home games after two on the road, the Heat will be looking to have that same kind of success in this one.
A big part of that will be the play of forward Jimmy Butler, who has led Miami in scoring in every game he’s played in these playoffs. Butler is averaging 31.1 points in the postseason but also leads the way with his effort and confidence on both ends of the floor. He’ll likely get a lot of time trying to slow down Boston forward Jayson Tatum.
Center Bam Adebayo must be a presence in the paint against the Celtics. Boston has a big lineup, so Adebayo, who averaged 25.0 points and 9.0 rebounds against the Celtics in the regular season, must hold his own on the interior.
Tatum Leads The Boston Charge
Tatum was among the NBA player stats leaders in scoring during the regular season with 30.1 points per game, but he’s really come alive in this postseason at the right times for Boston. He scored 16 points in the fourth quarter of Game 6 against Philadelphia to help force the deciding Game 7, then went for an NBA-record 51 points in the deciding game against the 76ers.
Still, Tatum will have to work hard to get that kind of production against the Heat, who ranked second in the NBA team stats for scoring defense in the regular season, allowing just 109.8 points per game. Tatum can’t do it himself, but he also must be aggressive in looking for his own shot.
Guard Jaylen Brown will also be key for the Celtics to keep them from focusing too much on Tatum. Others like Marcus Smart and Al Horford will need to shoot well from the outside when they get open looks.
Updates
The Heat’s entry on the NBA injury report is a key one, as guard Tyler Herro (20.1 points) remains out after suffering a hand injury in the opening-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Betting Preview
As you make your Heat vs Celtics prediction, you’ll have to decide if you think Miami can keep things close in this one.
Spread: Boston is favored by eight points, and you can get -110 odds on either team on a point-spread bet.
Moneyline: If your NBA predictions are on the moneyline, you can get Boston with -325 odds for a straight-up win, or Miami at +265 for an outright victory.
Over/Under: The over/under for the game is set at 210.5 points, with -110 odds available for either side of that wager.
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Betting Prediction
Both of these teams have played well throughout this postseason, so a Heat vs Celtics prediction for Game 1 isn’t easy.
The large margin on the point spread pushes things in Miami’s direction, however, as we like the Heat to at least stay within the eight points in a loss.
- Take Miami plus the points in a low-scoring, intense affair.
If you love sports and want more sports betting information follow us as @InsidersBetDig on Twitter and sign up to our mailing list for free betting picks.