Celtics vs Heat Picks & Odds: Miami Looks To Take Early Lead In East Final

The Miami Heat (61-32 SU, 53-39-1 ATS) are small favorites as they host the Boston Celtics (59-34, 51-40-2) in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final on Tuesday at FTX Arena. Miami will look to make its second NBA Finals in the last three years while Boston will look to do so for the first time since 2010. Find out which club is favored in our Celtics vs Heat prediction.

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Celtics vs Heat Odds & Analysis

Sportsbook Odds 

The Heat opened as a 1.5-point favorite for Game 1 at home with the total set at 206.5 points. The UNDER is 5-2 in Boston’s last seven games and 9-2 in Miami’s last 11. Miami remains unbeaten on its home court in these playoffs, holding a nine-game win streak at FTX Arena dating back to the regular season – a trend that favors the hosts for your Celtics vs Heat prediction.
 
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Celtics Rout Bucks To Advance To Conference Final

The Celtics are coming off an excellent Game 7 performance against the Milwaukee Bucks as they routed the defending NBA champions 109-81. Grant Williams scored a career-high 27 points while Jayson Tatum added 23. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a monster game for Milwaukee with 25 points and 20 rebounds but a tight Celtics defense held the Bucks to just 36 percent from the field and an abysmal 12 percent from three-point territory.

One of the big stories for Boston heading into this series will be the health of Defensive Player of the Year award Sportsbook Marcus Smart. The guard suffered a mid-foot sprain after a collision with Antetokounmpo in Game 7 and is considered questionable for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final.

Butler Leads Heat Past His Former Team

Jimmy Butler led the way for Miami in Game 6, scoring 32 points against his former team as the Heat defeated the Philadelphia 76ers by a score of 99-90 to earn a berth in the East final. Butler scored 14 of his points in the third quarter on 6-of-9 shooting to help the Heat go on a 16-2 run from which they never looked back.

Butler has been a superstar for the Heat in these playoffs, averaging 28.7 points per game, the fourth-best mark in the league. While Miami does boast a good amount of offensive depth in players like Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, they don’t really have an answer to the one-two punch of Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are averaging over 50 points per game combined. It’ll be interesting to see who steps up offensively for the Heat against a very tough defensive team.

PJ Tucker (calf), Max Strus (hamstring), Gabe Vincent (hamstring) and Caleb Martin (ankle) are questionable while Kyle Lowry (hamstring) is out for Tuesday’s game.

Celtics vs Heat Pick & Insights

Celtics: Keys To Cover

The Celtics are elite defensively but that’s washed out a bit by the Heat, who are the NBA’s top defensive team this postseason, allowing 97.5 points per game. Boston’s edge will likely come from its top-scoring due of Tatum and Brown – if they’re on, the Celtics will have a great chance of picking up an early series lead.

Heat: Keys To Cover

The Heat will need another big-time performance from Butler, who scored 30-plus in three of his last four games against the 76ers. Miami will also need to rely on its excellent defense to contain at least one, if not both, of Tatum and Brown.

NBA Computer Pick: Celtics +1.5

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