NBA Playoffs Best Bets, Picks & Predictions: Friday (Heat vs. Celtics)

The Celtics are in a familiar spot as they’ve dropped back-to-back Game 1s at home. They are also familiar with Miami, as this will be the third time they’ve played each other in the playoffs in four years. Let’s see if Boston can once again bounce back after a loss.

Today's NBA Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

Miami Heat (+315) at Boston Celtics (-400)| O/U 215.5 (-110/-110)

The Celtics looked good going into halftime of Game 1, but it seems like they left their game in the locker room.

Miami was the heat of the third quarter as they outscored Boston by 21. The Celtics did attempt a comeback in the fourth but made several mistakes, including turnovers in three straight possessions.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were offensively spectacular, combining for 52 points, but they were the biggest culprits of those turnovers with a ten between the two of them.

The Celtics are a great defensive team, but they were uncharacteristically awful on Wednesday. During the regular season, they were fourth by allowing opponents to shoot 34.5% from three, but they allowed 51.6% from behind the arc to Miami.

The Heat did a great job at the ball movement in this game. Jimmy Butler continued his impressive run in the playoffs with 35 points and seven assists. How he did this was by moving around without the ball, getting open, and finding the high-percentage shot.

The Heat were also getting points from the bench, with Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin having 15 each, and Bam Adebayo looked great in the paint with 20 points and eight rebounds. The role players must contribute with Tyler Herro not likely to play this series.  It was overall a great effort from the entire lineup as they outpaced an exhausted Celtics lineup coming off a seven-game series.

The Celtics have rebounded well after a loss and are 4-0 in the playoffs after a defeat. Boston played uncharacteristic with turnovers, and defensively, it was a worse effort since Game 2 in the first round against Atlanta.

This a team that has been in this situation before when they lost Game 1 against Philadelphia, they won and covered the next game. They lost to Miami in Game 1 last year and won and covered the next game. They've always been able to make the adjustments, and Miami will not make more than half of their threes again on Friday night.

Pick: Celtics -9 (-110)

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