The Miami Heat look to earn another road win when they take on the host Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Friday night. Miami took the series opener on Wednesday night, rallying for their third straight series-opening victory on the road in these playoffs.
Boston is trying to avoid an 0-2 deficit before the series moves to Miami for Games 3 and 4, which would make a second straight trip to the NBA Finals very difficult to achieve. This is the only game on the NBA schedule for Friday night, so let’s take a closer look at the matchup and the NBA playoffs odds and make our best Heat vs Celtics picks.
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Odds
Spread: Despite their Game 1 loss, the Boston Celtics are the favorite when looking at the NBA odds for Game 2, giving nine points on a point-spread bet. You’ll get -110 odds on either team you take with that wager.
Moneyline: If you’re making your Heat vs Celtics picks on the moneyline, you can get Boston at -400, while Miami is listed at +320.
Over/under: The over/under has been set at 215½ points, with -110 odds on either side of that wager.
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Information
Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics
Location of the game: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Date & Time: Friday, May 19, 2023, 8:30 PM ET
How to watch: TNT
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Betting Preview
Heat Playing With Confidence
The Miami Heat may have been the eighth seed in the Conference, needing to get through the play-in tournament to get into the playoffs. But you wouldn’t know it by their demeanor every time they hit the floor. This team has a lot of confidence, and it shows in their play even when down, as they keep hustling.
Much of that comes from having Jimmy Butler as their leader. Throughout the NBA schedule for playoffs, Butler has been one of the top players still taking the court. He’s averaging 31.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.1 steals. He’s coming off 35 points, seven assists and six steals in the Game 1 win.
Five other Miami players scored 15 or more points in the series-opening victory, led by Bam Adebayo’s 20. They might not have a lot of players ranking among the leaders in NBA player stats, but there are plenty that can get hot and burn a defense.
Celtics Need More Consistency
The Boston Celtics were one of the top teams in the NBA team stats in points allowed. Boston ranked fifth in the regular season by giving up just 111.4 ppg. But the defense has come and gone in the postseason, as shown in Game 1, when the Celtics allowed 57 first-half points to take a nine-point halftime lead. Then gave up 46 points in the third quarter alone to blow that advantage.
Offensively, Boston went cold as well after halftime, scoring just 50 points to get outscored by 16. The Celtics were 51.9% from the field for the game but were hurt by 15 turnovers as well.
Forward Jayson Tatum continued his hot play, finishing with 30 points and seven rebounds. Jaylen Brown chipped in 22 points, nine rebounds, and five assists but was just 10-21 from the floor, including 1-6 from 3-point.
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Betting Picks
This is one of the NBA matchups that is going to come down to what team can be more effective offensively. After it faltered in Game 1, we like Boston to be that team in Game 2, so our Heat vs Celtics picks are for Boston to win and cover in this one.
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