NBA Playoffs: Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Game 6 Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Boston Celtics made a massive step towards the NBA Finals, beating the Miami Heat in Game 5 of their series. The Cs are now just one win away from their first finals since 2010. That won’t be an easy task, but many factors are going in their favor, the biggest one – the crowd at the TD Garden and the massive momentum as they have two wins in a row. Miami is in one hell of a position, but they have no other option but to keep on fighting. Erik Spoelstra faces such situations, and if someone knows how to get out of the same, it would be him.

Preview

Miami Heat (+350) made seven threes in 45 attempts last night. That is why they lost this event. It appears that Kyle Lowry isn’t the player he used to be, with all due respect and all the justifications due to his injury trouble. But not being the slightest factor in this series is only proof of our claim. He scored 0 points on Wednesday night.

Tyler Herro’s absence is a massive hit for Spoelstra because he doesn’t have a second-unit leader now. Oladipo had three points, Gabe Vincent scored 15, and it was maybe better for him to start at the point guard than Lowry. By the way, he was 1-for-7 for three.

Jimmy Butler made four of his 18 shots from the field, ending the night with 13 buckets, while Bam Adebayo reached a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards. Duncan Robinson had 11, 3-for-10 for three.

Boston Celtics (-450) displayed a fantastic second half in which they outscored the rivals 56-38. The third quarter was very impressive, 32-16 for the Cs, who broke the Heat resistance and flipped the result.

This was the second game in a row in which the Celtics limited Miami to under 100 points, and this time they were ruthless, allowing only 80 points. As said, the Heat shot for three atrociously, but that is because the Cs didn’t allow them to reach near the basket, plus forced them to take tough attempts.

Jaylen Brown was the best player on the field, even though Jayson Tatum had better stats. JT was near a triple-double, 22 points, 12 boards, and nine assists, while Brown scored 25 points, having a much bigger impact on the defensive side. Plus, he delivered some buckets that crushed the Heat’s morale, one of them a dunk that pretty much sealed the game.

Head to Head Games

The Heat won the opening game of the series, 118-107, but the Cs responded strongly, 127-102. After that, Miami once again beat the rivals, only this time in TD Garden, 109-103, but the Celtics leveled the series following Game 4, 102-82. Game 5 at the FTX Arena concluded 92-80 for the guests.

Prediction

Boston has a unique chance to reach the NBA finals. It appears that they finally broke the Heat’s offense, who isn’t responding well to Herro’s absence, and who has massive trouble with Kyle Lowry. That is why we bet on the hosts to win this one. We wouldn’t go with the spread but bet on the Cs’ plain triumph.

Pick: Celtics win