NBA: Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Game 7 Preview, Odds, Lines, Predictions, Picks

The Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat will play Game 7 of the East Conference Finals. The Cs are in the position of becoming the first team ever in the NBA playoffs to come back from a 0-3 deficit. And to make it even better for them, they will have the home-court edge both in Game 7 and the potential NBA Finals. Game 6 in Miami was a massive morale-killer for the Heat, who lost the event in the final moments due to Derrick White’s put-back with 0.2 seconds to go. We’ll see if Erik Spoelstra has the power to lift the spirits in the locker room.

• Heat Odds +275
• Celtics Odds -350
• Spread Celtics -8
• Over/Under 203.5

Preview

Miami Heat (+275) have done everything possible to make this playoff interesting. Their journey from the play-in tournament, and the comeback from tough situations during those times, to beat the top seed in the league, the Bucks, and later the Knicks up to this now. 

Erik Spoelstra’s guys had everything in their hands but let it slip away. We are more than sure that the situation in the Heat training facility following last night’s defeat is more than pale, but they still have a nice chance to reach the finals and eventually forget all this trouble.

Jimmy Butler was in problems throughout the entire game, and that’s the reason why the Heat couldn’t find any rhythm. He did score 24 points but was 5-for-21 from the field. Butler added 11 boards and eight assists. Caleb Martin was perfect with 21 buckets and 15 boards, while Bam Adebayo grabbed 13 rebounds with 11 points. 

Boston Celtics (-350) have been terrible from deep, 7-for-35, but they would still come on top in this one. Derrick White, the silent hero of the Cs this year, was in the right place at the right time, bringing the victory to his unit and possibly saving the season.

White had only 11 points in 42 minutes, but it turned out that his two were the most important. The Cs’ leading trio, Tatum–Brown–Smart, ended the night with 78 points. 

Tatum led the way with 31 points and 12 boards, missing all of his eight threes but hitting all 15 free throws. Brown was 0-4 for three but 9-for-12 for two, and he too had a double-double scoring 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Smart delivered 21 points. 

Head to Head Games

This series was wild, with the Heat taking the first three games, two in Boston, 123-116 and 111-105. Miami took Game 3 at the Miami-Dade Arena, 128-102, but lost the following one, 116-99. Ever since, the Celtics kept on pounding the rivals, 110-97 in Boston and 104-103 in Florida. 

Prediction

Boston will become the first team to come back from a three-game deficit and win the series. And besides that, they will break the rivals into pieces, which is why we expect them to cover an 8-point spread. Furthermore, we really think that the Cs will triumph by a double-digit margin. After such a shock and all that happened in the past two weeks, the Heat’s morale is terrible, while on the other side, the Celtics are fired up and can’t wait for the game to start. 

Pick: Celtics -8 -110