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Somehow the Miami Heat just keep winning in the NBA playoffs. A 44-win team during the regular season and the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference thanks to a do-or-die win over the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament, the Heat are now three wins away from playing for a NBA title. With Jimmy Butler getting hot and the Boston Celtics going cold, Miami stole the opener on Wednesday night as a huge 8-point dog on the NBA betting line. The Heat have now opened each of their three playoff series with an outright road win. They’ve been one of the best NBA spread picks in the playoffs with nine payouts in 12 games. The Heat followed a Game 1 victory in their first two series by losing Game 2, and Boston will be amped to even the series on Friday opening as a 9-point favorite at BetRivers sportsbook.
Daily NBA Picks
Miami at Boston, 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Miami Heat at Boston Celtics
An underdog at +320 to win the series and catching 8-points on the line in Game 1, the Heat certainly didn’t play the role. I guess knocking off the No. 1 seed Bucks in five games then bouncing New York in six will give you a boost of confidence, and it’s not like Jimmy Butler needed more of that. Prior to Game 1 Butler practically predicted a Miami victory saying, “We’re going to go into this Game 1 and do what we’re supposed to do and be the first one to four wins.”
Butler backed up his words with convincing actions and the Celtics looked powerless to stop him. Buckets dropped 35 on 12 of 25 shooting and damn near did it all with seven assists, six steals and five rebounds while playing over 43 minutes rallying the Heat from a 9-point halftime deficit to a 123-116 victory improving to 5-2 as a NBA spread pick in the playoffs.
Playing a same game parlay with player props is a good way to stay invested in the game even if you’re not a fan of either team. Butler’s point total for Game 1 was 28.5 and he easily cashed the OVER. He’s been hot all postseason entering Wednesday’s tilt averaging 31.1 points. He scored at least 30 points five times but topped out at 28 in the New York series, missing a game due to injury.
With Butler the closest on the team to being a superstar, the Heat don’t necessarily rely on him for offense. Everything runs through him and there are times when passing the ball is a better option. When that happens, a lot of times Bam Adebayo is the beneficiary. Bam and Butler have perfected the pick and roll and Adebayo is a threat down low. He hit 9 of 13 shots for 20 points and four other players – Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Caleb Martin and Kyle Lowry – each scored 15 points.
As an NBA Finals pick all the pressure is on the Celtics in Game 2. For a team that has been historically dominant on its home floor, Boston has been average at best this postseason. Wednesday’s loss dropped them to 4-4 SU and ATS inside the Garden. And they’ve had difficulties with Heat dropping five of the last seven games between the clubs in Boston.
Jayson Tatum is a great player averaging 28.3 points and 10.4 rebounds in the playoffs. He is gaining a reputation for disappearing at the most inopportune times, though. He struggled in last year’s Finals against the Warriors and his lack of production Wednesday night, especially in the fourth quarter, didn’t help. Tatum scored 30 points but didn’t take a shot over the final 12 minutes and turned the ball over three times in the last few minutes.
One game does not make a series and I don’t think anyone had this one ending early. The clubs know each other well as they battle for the third time in four seasons in this round. I expect the Celtics will make the proper adjustments on defense and Miami won’t shoot 54 percent from the field in Game 2. As a result I think the Celtics will win the game, but nine points is a lot between teams that have played some nail biters recently, which is why I’ll back the visitors as an NBA point spread pick at BetRivers.
NBA Playoff Same Game Parlay Picks: Miami +9 / UNDER 215.5
Check out the latest NBA betting odds at BetRivers.
