Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat betting tips and predictions for Wednesday’s NBA Playoffs game on TNT. The Eastern Conference Finals are set to begin tonight at TD Garden as the Celtics and Heat square off in Game 1. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Boston Celtics
It was a historic game for Jayson Tatum on Sunday as he put up 51 points in the win against the 76ers, setting a new all-time high for a Game 7. That performance was a massive confidence booster for Tatum who struggled for a good portion of that series, especially in 1st quarters. Things should improve against the Heat, he averaged 30.8 points per game against them in 4 regular season meetings.
The two teams split those 4 games, with each side winning once on the road and once at home. Game 1 will be a feel out game, the Celtics open as 8-point favorites at home which does sound like a lot, despite them going 11-3 SU in their last 14 games at TD Garden. They’ve covered the spread in 13 of 18 games vs Eastern Conference opponents, but the Heat have proven to be a tough nut to crack so far in these playoffs.
Miami Heat
Miami’s confidence level is probably higher here as they just eliminated their 2nd opponent in these playoffs as the lower seed. This team has 7 wins in their last 9 games, while also covering the spread 7 times during that stretch. Jimmy Butler is playing like an MVP, I’d argue he has been the best postseason performer so far in these Playoffs.
Miami continues life without Victor Oladipo and Tyler Herro, they also have Cody Zeller on the injury list due to an illness so his status is up in the air. Knowing the “next man up” mentality of Miami, this should not be an issue here. The Heat have actually won the last 2 regular season meetings vs Boston, with the game at TD Garden going into overtime before they came out on top 120-116. In that game they had 4 players score at least 20 points, an effort like that will be required tonight as well if they want to pull off the shocker in Game 1.
There are no clear cut favorites at this stage of the season. We have two very similar teams, with only 1 of their 4 regular season games being decided by more than 8 points which is the spread tonight. Just based on that I’m giving Miami a chance here, so let’s go with the road team and the extra points.
Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Predictions & Odds
The 2 games in Boston were very different from the 2 played in Miami during the regular season, with 255 and 236 point scored in them. These two teams have cleared the 210.5 projected total in 3 of the 4 meetings, and both of them have leaned towards the over lately. Miami has cashed on that bet in 8 of their last 9 road games, the Celtics have done so in 8 of 11 games overall. Head-to-head meetings have also been fruitful on the over with 8 of the last 10 cashing when they meet at TD Garden.
After a grueling series for both teams in Round 2, I think the defenses might take their foot off the gas pedal a bit in the series opener here, just to get a good feel for how the series will develop. Expect a faster pace here just like in last night’s Lakers vs Nuggets game, so I think the over is the smarter bet.
