NBA Playoffs Best Bets, Picks & Predictions: Tuesday (Celtics vs. Heat)
The Miami Heat are one win away from returning to the NBA Finals.
The Heat have three banners, but none with Jimmy Butler as the lead guy. One more win at home against the Boston Celtics, and Butler’s Miami Heat will be playing the Denver Nuggets for the Championship in June.
Can Boston salvage the series and make the Eastern Conference Finals exciting?
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Today’s Best NBA Bets
Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook. All wagers are 1 unit
Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat
The Boston Celtics need to look in the mirror before Game 4. Not a single player on the Celtics added more than 14 points against the Heat in Game 3. Nobody had a good game. That’s essentially why the Celtics fell flat on their face.
Every game is now a must-win for the Celtics in this series. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the NBA Playoffs. We just watched the Denver Nuggets earn a sweep against the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
Meanwhile, the Heat have had so many guys step up in big moments. At times, production has been inconsistent for the Heat. But there’s always one or two role players adding incredible production in a game. On Game 3, Gabe Vincent scored 29 points on 11-for-14 from the floor in 35 minutes. Caleb Martin has averaged close to 20 points in this series after being let go by the Charlotte Hornets before the season.
The player development in the Heat organization is incredible. The Heat shot over 56% from the field against the Celtics in Game 3. This is when the Celtics needed to earn a win, on the road, against the Heat. But the Celtics had no answers. They shot under 40% from the field and hit only 26.2% of threes while attempting 42 of them in the game.
Boston had 21 offensive rebounds to Miami’s one offensive rebound. That was partly because the Heat rarely missed. But the reality is, if the Celtics can start to make their shots consistently, they’ll be OK. They’ll need to limit turnovers after giving up 15 turnovers in Game 3, but overall, it comes down to shot-making.
Eventually, the Celtics will get a bit tired down the stretch. They’ve been lackluster all series. The offense has little confidence, and the defense has no answers. However, I expect much more offense out of the Celtics in Game 4. You’d expect Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to hit more threes after combining for one three in Game 3.
But with all that extra effort on the offensive end, the Celtics won’t be top-tier on the defensive end. Therefore, I’m going to roll with the Over 216 in this matchup.
I’m hoping we get more basketball before June 1. I’m rooting for the Celtics. But I think the Over is the best bet for the night.
Bet: Over 216 (-110)
Also, take a look at our other best bets for Tuesday:
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