Free NBA Pick: Celtics vs. Heat NBA Odds
Looking for Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat free NBA picks & NBA odds? NBA betting sees the Celtics taking on the Heat on Wednesday, May 25th, 2022 at FTX Arena. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NBA basketball matchups so stay tuned for more FREE daily NBA hoops predictions like this Celtics Heat matchup.
2022 NBA Playoffs Handicapping – Eastern Conference Finals
(2-2) Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat (2-2)
Date: Wednesday, May 25th
Time: 8:30 PM EST
Venue: FTX Arena, Miami, Florida
NBA Moneyline Odds: Celtics -118 | Heat +110 (Bet Now!)
NBA Betting Odds: Celtics -1.5
NBA Betting Total: 203.5
Game five of the Eastern Conference Finals between the second-seeded Boston Celtics and top-seeded Miami Heat tips off on Wednesday, May 25th with the series knotted at two games apiece.
This is the pivotal match that typically determines the series winners but this series has been anything but typical with every game witnessing early 20-point leads. With the series now a best of three will the squads finally play a match that is close through all four quarters?
Boston Celtics
Despite the easy victory for the Celtics, the concern for the Heat should be how they won as it wasn’t a typical performance. Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston scoring 31 points but 14 of those came at the charity stripe (14-16) and he continued to struggle from deep (1-7).
Jaylen Brown (12 points on 5 of 20) and Derrick White (13 points on 4 of 14) each collected double-figures but neither was efficient.
Al Horford was the dominant force with 13 rebounds, four blocks, three assists, and five points. The other double-figure contributors were Payton Pritchard (14) and Robert Williams III (12).
Marcus Smart who is dealing with a sprained ankle, sore quad and other ailments missed Game 4, but is questionable for Wednesday.
Also uncertain are Williams III (knee) who has been in and out of the lineup and Derrick White who left the last game nursing his hamstring. Sam Hauser (shoulder) is out.
Miami Heat
If the Heat were embarrassed by the Game 2 loss in Miami, what happened in Game 4 should have them seething. The starting unit only scored 18 combined points.
Victor Oladipo continued to be a presence leading the Heat with 23 points, four rebounds, and six assists. One positive takeaway from the loss was Duncan Robinson finally found his 3-point shot, hitting 4 of 8 to score 14 points.
The other double-figure contributor was Caleb Martin with 12 points.
Both teams are dealing with bumps and bruises but four of the five Heat starters plus Tyler Herro are consistently on the injury report.
Subsequently, Erik Spoelstra has navigated managing his lineups either missing a core player or knowing they aren’t close to 100 percent. Given the Game 4 blowout, it afforded him the opportunity to rest Jimmy Butler, PJ Tucker, and Kyle Lowry for the final frame.
Of that trio only Butler isn’t on the injury report, Tucker (knee) as well as Max Strus and Gabe Vincent who are nursing hamstring injuries are all probable while Lowry (hamstring) and Herro (groin) are questionable.
NBA Betting Trends:
- Boston is 14-5 ATS in their last 19 games.
- Miami is 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games.
- Boston is 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games on the road.
- The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Miami’s last 15 games.
- Celtics are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a road favorite.
- Heat are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a home underdog.
Free Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat NBA Prediction:
Game 4 was over essentially in the first quarter, as the Celtics won the glass (60-39), scoring in the paint (38-28), and blocks (11-2) but didn’t play to their identity.
Boston’s postseason routs have featured strong perimeter performances but that wasn’t the case in Game 4. Miami shot 38.9% (14-36) while the Celtics shot 23.5% (8-34).
Granted this series hasn’t run the typical course and the 20-point variances haven’t served up a competitive nailbiter yet. The greater variant can be isolated to matchups.
Butler and Tatum are the top dogs, Lowry and Smart impact pace and two-way play, Tucker and Robert Williams are the defensive x-factors and each side has numerous 3-point shooters who can blow a game open.
Yet the two players who it feels like this series will be decided by are Bam Adebayo and Jaylen Brown. Adebayo has only impacted one match (Game 3) and struggled when both Horford and Robert Williams played.
He was masterful in Game 3 registering 31 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and four steals. But his other three games he has a combined 25 points, five assists, no steals and has averaged 6.3 rebounds.
Brown, has vacillated between solid shooting performances and inefficient nights but arguably been the most consistent scorer for the Celtics. He’s shot a high of 70% versus a low of 25% from the field while his 3-point shooting hit a high of 57.1% versus a low of 16.7%.
If Tatum and Butler deliver it’s these two who will determine the victor and assuming the series stays on it’s see-saw trend that should equate to the Heat responding to the loss.
4* Free NBA Betting Pick: Heat +1.5
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