Heat vs. Celtics Game 2 Preview, Odds, Lines, Betting Tips, Prediction, Picks

The Miami Heat triumphed in Game 1 of the NBA East finals against the Boston Celtics, keeping alive their streak of excellent performances. Meanwhile, the Celtics lost another meeting in Boston, their third in the last five, which is an alarming situation. Yes, they do play very well on the road, but at some point, that will stop, especially when you have very fierce opponent across the court. Jimmy Butler was the man of the night in Boston, and the one who demolished the Cs, but we need to say that Erik Spoelstra once again showed his greatness by involving all the players in the battle and getting out their maximum.

• Heat Odds +320
• Celtics Odds -420
• Spread Celtics -8.5
• Over/Under 215.5

Preview

Miami Heat (+320) defeated the Cs in the opening event of the series, 123-116, with Jimmy Butler delivering a long-distance dagger that pulled away his team to 10 points, 120-110. Previously, the guests from Florida were behind 12 buckets midway through the game but again showed a fighting mentality.

Butler had 35 points, seven assists, five boards and six steals. He was harassing the rivals on both ends of the floor, forcing both Brown and Tatum to lose possessions often.

But he wasn’t the main reason for the win. Erik Spoelstra is. The Heat coach rotated his guards often, allowing them to carry the team throughout various periods. Max Struss, Gabe Vincent, Kyle Lowry and Caleb Marting all had 15 points. Adebayo scored 20 points, being very confident under the rim.

Boston Celtics (-420) saw their big guys failing to control the glass. The Cs had only 34 rebounds, nine on the offensive side, meaning that they couldn’t impose their own game in the paint. The team shot very well, 51.9% FG, but in only 81 attempts.

Jayson Tatum had 30 points and seven rebounds, and Malcolm Brogdon scored 19 off the bench. Marcus Smart had 13 buckets and 11 asists, while Robert Williams III ended with 14 points and six rebounds.

In our opinion, Jaylen Brown failed to show up. The explosive guard did score 22 buckets and had nine rebounds, but he had only one three in six attempts and lost six possessions. On the other side, he wasn’t able to slow down Butler on the defensive side, so all in all, Brown’s sub-par performance may be the key to this defeat.

Head to Head Games

Game 1 ended in Miami’s favor, 123-116. The previous four events which took place during the regular part of the campaign, saw each team winning twice. The Celtics took the opening two contests, and the Heat responded afterward. Also, both units won on the road.

Prediction

Game 1 was efficient way above expectations. Overall, the matches in Boston ended with plenty of points, unlike those in Miami. The line for Game 2 is at 215.5 points, and two of the Cs vs. Heat events at the TD Garden went above that line.

Many anticipate Boston’s response, and a much more aggressive approach, especially in defense. But even so, we don’t expect to witness a drop in the efficiency because Boston’s Game 1 loss was more because of their failures on the offensive end in the moments when the win was on the line. That’s why we pick Over 215.5 buckets for Friday’s clash.

Pick: Over 215.5 points -110