NBA Betting – Thursday Night Picks – Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat
Before nba betting fans turn their attention to more sports betting events this weekend, we have the NBA doubleheader on Thursday night. It’s time for our weekly hoops picks for NBA gambling action.
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Team records:
Boston: 6-2 SU, 4-4 ATS
Miami: 5-3 SU, 4-4 ATS
Go Inside This Matchup With Our NBA ATS Stats —>
CELTICS vs. HEAT
Time: Thursday 8 ET
Venue: American Airlines Arena, Miami
Monday line: Celtics +240/Heat -280
Spread: Heat -6.5
Over/Under: 184.5
If you thought, like Jeff Van Gundy, that the Heat were going to break out of the gate and race to 74 or 75 wins this season, well, so far so not so good. The Heat sell out everywhere they go and the product on the court has been pretty good. Through the first eight games Miami has had little trouble crushing bad teams; the Heat are 4-0 against dregs Minnesota, New Jersey and Philadelphia, overwhelming them with talent.
But against plus-.500 teams the story is a little different. The Heat do own a solid 96-70 victory over the Magic, but Miami’s three losses have come to good clubs – Boston, New Orleans and Utah.
Maybe it’s a good thing that the Heat might not be running off 15-, 20- and 25-game winning streaks this season.
Maybe if LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh spend some time working in practice to integrate role players into the mix, find a rotation that works and gets better on the boards as the season winds into the spring, a championship that was ceded to them before the season might come into focus.
All that said, tonight’s TNT opener against the 6-2 Celtics will provide a good measuring stick for the Heat.
The Celts are pretty much what we figured them to be. The two losses weren’t stunners – they lost to the Cavaliers in Cleveland opener the night after Boston beat the Heat, and got caught at the buzzer in Dallas.
But except for a few minor injuries to Jermaine and Shaquille O’Neal, they are who were thought they were – a veteran team that will probably (but not definitely) get to the Eastern Conference finals.
Betting Trends:
BOS are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 vs. NBA Southeast.
Under is 6-2 in BOS last 8 vs. NBA Southeast.
Under is 18-7-1 in BOS last 26 Thu. games.
Under is 11-4-1 in MIA last 16 Thu. games.
MIA are 6-14 ATS in their last 20 Thu. games.
Best parlay bet: None of the four teams in action in the TNT doubleheader tonight are dominant cover teams – Celts and Heat 4-4 ATS, Lakers 5-3 and Nuggets 2-6.
The Lakers are 8-0 SU but have feasted on a string of weak opponents, surviving nicely as they await the return on injured Andrew Bynum.
Liking LA -3 tonight to continue its run against a Denver team that does not rebound well, and Boston +6.5 on the other side of the ticket.
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Lawrence Paul is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog, and is a free-lance gambling and travel expert from Massachusetts.
