NBA Basketball

Celtics Face More Heat in Eastern Conference Finals

Posted by Nick Brown
May 16, 2023

Last round, the Boston Celtics faced NBA betting extinction. The Philadelphia 76ers led Boston 3-2 with the chance to clinch at home in game six. Instead, the Celtics rallied for a clutch win to force Game 7. And then Boston applied the dagger that Philadelphia handed them to win the series. Now the Celtics face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Last year Boston won the Eastern Conference championship. Now they continue their quest to make and win the NBA Finals. However, getting past Miami will not be easy. The Heat is the toughest team in basketball.

2023 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals

CashBet Odds: Boston Celtics -500 vs. Miami Heat +380

Heat vs. Celtics Series Schedule

* if necessary | All games 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT)

Miami Heat Shows Playoff Grit

First among Miami scorers is Jimmy Butler, with 31.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Bam Adebayo adds 18.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

Miami has best sportsbook online ranks 30^th for scoring offense, 28^th for field goal percentage, 27^th for 3-point field goal percentage, 2^nd for free throw percentage, and 27^th for offensive rebounding. In comparison, on defense, the Heat rank 2^nd for scoring defense, 22^nd for field goal percentage permitted, 22^nd for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 6^th for defensive rebounding.

Late on, Miami has covered seven out of their last nine games. In comparison, the Heat has gone over the total in three of its previous five matchups. The Miami Heat finished 44-38 straight up, 31-49-2 against the spread, and 41-41 over/under the NBA betting total.

Miami Heat Last Game

Namely, Jimmy Butler scored 24 points, Bam Adebayo added 23, and the Heat are returning to the Eastern Conference finals. On Friday night, Miami topped the New York Knicks 96-92 in Game 6.

Miami is in the Eastern Conference Finals for the 10th time overall, the seventh time in the last 13 years, and the third time in the past four seasons. Now, they’ll play Game 1 in Boston.

Additionally, Max Strus scored 14 points, and Kyle Lowry had 11 points and nine assists for the Heat. They’re the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to make the conference finals. Miami joins the Knicks, who pulled it off in 1999.

Boston Celtics Fight To Live For Repeat

First among Boston scorers is Jayson Tatum, with 28.2 points, 5.2 assists, and 10.6 rebounds per contest per game. Also, Jaylen Brown brings 24.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Boston has betting on NBA ranks of 4^th for scoring offense, 14^th for field goal percentage, 6^th for 3-point field goal percentage, 4^th for free throw percentage, and 7^th for offensive rebounding. In comparison on defense, the Celtics rank 5^th for scoring defense, 5^th for field goal percentage permitted, 4^th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 18^th for defensive rebounding.

Late on, Boston has covered four out of their last six games. Boston has gone over the pro basketball betting total in three of their previous five games. The Boston Celtics finished 57-25 straight up, 45-36-1 against the spread, and 43-38 over/under the total.

Boston Celtics Last Game

Following struggles in back-to-back games, Jayson Tatum erupted for 51 points. Specifically, that was the most in a Game 7 in history. And the Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 112-88 on Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year.

Previously in Game 6, Tatum missed 14 of his first 15 shots only to awaken in the fourth quarter in time to save their season. In Game 7, Tatum scored 25 in the back-and-forth first half and 17 more in Boston’s 33-10 third quarter, turning a three-point lead into a runaway.