Heat vs Celtics

Heat vs Celtics | NBA Betting Analysis

Written by on May 11, 2021

Absolutely huge game in the Eastern Conference playoff race on Tuesday as the Miami Heat, who currently hold the sixth spot in the East, visit the Boston Celtics, who are seventh and would have to compete in the play-in tournament as things stand. The NBA odds for this one will depend on a few key injuries.

How to Bet Heat at Celtics NBA Odds & TV Info

  • When: Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET
  • Where: TD Garden
  • TV: TNT
  • Stream: TNT app
  • Radio:com

Season Series

The teams have split two meetings and just played Sunday in Boston, which Miami won 130-124. Thus, the winner Tuesday would own a potentially crucial tiebreaker. The Celtics lead the all-time regular season series 76-48 and are 41-20 at home even with Sunday’s loss.

Why Bet on Miami? | NBA Betting Analysis

Miami won its second in a row Sunday, 130-124 in Boston. Jimmy Butler scored 26 points to go along with 11 assists, eight rebounds, and two steals. The Heat entered Sunday with a one-game lead on the Celtics for the 6th spot in the East. With game two of this brief two-game set with Boston looming on Tuesday, Sunday’s win now gives Miami a two-game cushion over Boston. As he did throughout their bubble run last season, Butler looks primed to play some of his best basketball when it matters most. He is averaging 24.3 points over his past six games.

Bam Adebayo had 20 points and six rebounds. Adebayo’s 10 made free throws were the most he’s had in a game since he sank 13 — a career high — back on Feb. 9. He has hit the 20-point mark in five of his last eight contests.

Duncan Robinson scored 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting (6-of-10 3PT) with three rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Robinson has hit multiple threes now in six straight games and has hit on 47.9 percent of them. Trevor Ariza had 19 points and four rebounds.  Ariza scored 15 of his 19 points in the second quarter as the Heat were up big in the first half before Boston made it interesting.

Miami had 79 first-half points Sunday, the second-most in team history, only their 82 first half points on Feb. 22, 2020 vs. Cleveland are more. Additionally, the Heat had five different players in double-figures in the first half as Miami shot 65.1 percent (28-of-43) from the field.

Miami has held opponents to under 100 points 21 times this season, including under their opponents scoring average on 44 occasions. The Heat have clinched a Top 8 seed and at least a spot in the play-in tournament.

Why Bet on Boston? | NBA Betting Analysis

Sunday’s loss to the Heat pushed Boston far closer to taking part in the NBA’s play-in tournament. If the Celtics lose to Miami again on Tuesday, their trip to the play-in will be all but assured. Beyond that, the Celtics will be hoping that Jaylen Brown (sprained ankle) and Robert Williams III (turf toe) will be healthy by the time their play-in or playoffs begins.

The Celtics cut a 26-point halftime deficit all the way down to six late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to Miami but that was as close as the C’s would get. Evan Fournier had his first 30-point game as a member of the Celtics, finishing with exactly that amount in the scoring column to lead all scorers. He shot 11-of-16 from the field, including 7-of-11 from 3-point range, while also making his lone free-throw attempt of the day. Fournier has averaged 21.5 points per game in his last four games. Ever since Brown went down, Fournier has assumed a starting role and been great.

Fournier also had his best facilitating effort as a Celtic, as he dished out a team-high eight assists. On top of that, he grabbed three rebounds, blocked one shot and did not turn the ball over a single time during his 35 minutes of action.

Jayson Tatum scored 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting to go with six assists and five rebounds. After a 3-for-15 effort that resulted in nine points Friday, Tatum bounced back in a big way, hitting nearly 70 percent of his shots. Over his past eight games, he is averaging 31.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the floor.

Boston gave up 79 points during the first half, which was one shy of the team record. Marcus Smart became the sixth Celtics player to join the 700 steals club after grabbing his first of two steals in the game.

Under Brad Stevens, Boston has never finished worse in opponent three-point percentage than 6th. This season? Boston is allowing opponents to shoot 37.5% from behind the arc. That figure is 22nd in the NBA.

Expert NBA Prediction

Celtics 110, Heat 108

 
 

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