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The Boston Celtics’ tagline entering the 2023 NBA playoffs is “Unfinished Business” in obvious reference to their loss in last season’s Finals. So far the plan is working with the Celtics one step closer to a return trip and an attempt at a record 18th NBA title. There is one minor detail, however, and that’s the Miami Heat, who became just the second No. 8 seed to advance to a conference championship by knocking off top-seed Milwaukee in five games in the opening round then taking care of New York in six games. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals takes place on Wednesday, May 17. Since the conclusion of the regular season the Heat are 9-4 with nine wins as a NBA pick against the spread. Miami won the last two regular season games to earn a split of the series, including an outright 120-116 triumph in December as a 7-point dog. The Heat are catching 8-points on the opening NBA betting line at BetRivers sportsbook.
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Miami at Boston, 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Miami Heat at Boston Celtics
The Heat are not your typical No. 8 seed with a majority of key players still on the roster from last season’s squad that won 53 games and earned the East’s No. 1 seed. Still, it’s a bit surprising to see them get this far without much of a struggle. They were able to steal homecourt advantage early with series opening wins at Milwaukee and New York. And though they are just 3-3 on the road this postseason, it only takes one away triumph as long as you win at home.
Winning with a team effort the Heat are back in the East finals for the third time in four years. And ironically Boston has been the opponent every time. They beat the Celtics in six games in the 2020 playoffs inside the Florida bubble and lost in seven games last year dropping the finale, 100-96, at home.
Jimmy Butler had a big series last year and has again sparked the Heat. He’s averaging 31.1 points, up nearly 10 points from his regular season average. Somebody had to pick up the slack for Victor Oladipo and Tyler Herro, who were both sidelined early in the playoffs with injuries. Miami was able to maneuver through the first two rounds but at some point the losses will have an impact. In the meantime the Heat are getting solid contributions from Bam Adebayo with 18.1 points and 9.2 rebounds and the quartet of Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Caleb Martin and Kyle Lowry, who are all averaging more than 10 points.
The Heat have also shown the ability to adjust. They averaged 124 points in an up-tempo series with Milwaukee and toned it down against the Knicks not scoring more than 109 points in any game. Miami is a solid NBA pick against the OVER playing above the point total in eight of their 11 postseason games.
The Celtics have been down this postseason but they’ve yet to be knocked out. With a chance to close out Atlanta in the first round the Celtics lost Game 5 at home as a 14-point NBA betting pick favorite. They sealed the deal on the road in Game 6, though. They were on the verge of elimination against the Sixers needing a road win in Game 6 to stay alive. Jayson Tatum went off in the fourth quarter of that contest lifting the Cs to a 95-86 victory. Tatum then went for 51 points in Game 7.
Known for their defense over the years, the Celtics rose to the occasion in the series clincher over Philly. They held Joel Embiid and James Harden to a combined 24 points on 8 of 29 shooting and overall the Sixers hit just 37 percent of their shots. Boston yielded only 10 points in the decisive third quarter turning a tight game into a 112-88 rout.
From a statistical standpoint the clubs are close in a number of categories suggesting we could see a tight game. The last two regular season meetings were decided by a total of seven points with Miami the NBA pick against the spread winner. Miami is 4-2 in the past six games played in Boston and the spread looks too big making the visitors a solid pick at BetRivers sportsbook.
NBA Playoff Same Game Parlay Pick at BetRivers.: Miami Heat +8.5 and Under 210.5
