Heat vs Celtics Conference Final Odds: Big Game Butler Did it Again!

Celtics Better Show Up With Ice in Their Veins

Celtics Desperate to Even Series

The Boston Celtics will look to avoid an 0-2 deficit when they take to their home floor once more for Game 2 against the Miami Heat. Let’s take a look at the Heat vs Celtics Conference Final odds and see what the market has served up for bettors.

The Celtics were thoroughly embarrassed in Game 1 as the visiting Heat scored a franchise-record 46 points in the third quarter to steal an improbable road win. Boston won the other three-quarters of the play, but couldn’t overcome a 21-point deficit in the 12 minutes of play after halftime.

Erik Spoelstra will take plaudits for his team’s efforts last game, but the players deserve their praise as they simply outworked their opponents on their home floor. The extra effort coupled with a 54% shooting night from 3-point range is too much for any team to overcome and the question now is whether Miami can replicate that in this one.

Despite losing outright as 8.5-point favorites in Game 1 the Celtics are now listed at -9.0 points for Game 2. The total has been adjusted after the uptempo start to the series and currently sits at 215.5 points.

Heat logoHeat vs CelticsCeltics logo

Location: TD Garden
Day/Time:

Boston Ready to Take Aim

Simply put, the Celtics shouldn’t be losing the 3-point battle in this series, and the fact they were -18 in 3-point scoring in Game 1, highlights how important it is for them to take and make more than Miami.

Boston was 2nd in Catch & Shoot 3-point frequency in the regular season and was 4th in efficiency to match – they were also 3rd in opponent Catch & Shoot 3-point efficiency.

These things generally move back towards the mean as the series progresses, but the Celtics can’t leave that to chance and need to do a better job of generating those perimeter looks that made them so difficult to guard in the regular season.

When Boston’s 3-point shot is falling they open up the lanes to the basket for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to attack and given the lineup versatility at Mazzulla’s disposal we should expect more five-out lineups to pull Bam Adebayo away from the basket.

If the Celtics can make more threes and stop Miami from generating as many open looks we will see this series flip back to favoring last year’s Finalists.

Miami Defense Clamps Down

The Heat’s defense in the second half of Game 1 was what truly stemmed the tide and allowed their offense the opportunity to play in transition; now the challenge is to turn it up a notch.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was seen telling his team during a timeout of Game 1 that all Miami had done was turn up the effort and that until they matched that they wouldn’t regain momentum. While that was true, there was more to it than just that.

The Heat were aggressive in closing the lanes and anticipating the second pass from Boston, which led to 12 turnovers in the second half for the home team after recording just 3 in the first half. All three of Jayson Tatum’s possessions in the fourth quarter resulted in a turnover and those possessions were ultimately what decided the game.

Miami Heat ranks 2nd in defensive turnover percentage in the playoffs and their ability to quickly recognize plays to shut them down is a big part of why they have been so impressive in handling the Bucks and Knicks.

If Boston’s offense gets bogged down in late-shot clock situations again they can force those turnovers and get out in transition to space the floor and attack the mismatch.

While Miami’s Game 1 efforts were impressive it’s hard to imagine they can sustain the level of shooting that was required to steal home court advantage in this series. The market’s strong position on Boston, highlights the early betting confidence in the Celtics responding – which is something they’ve done time and again in the playoffs off a poor performance.

Boston is -5.5 points on the first-half line and that represents the best value here as we get a strong outing from the hosts in front of a fired-up crowd.

That’s all for our Heat vs Celtics Conference Final odds preview. Be sure to use our analysis to help with your NBA parlay today and Find today’s NBA betting lines.

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