Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA
Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics Game 5: Eastern Conference Playoffs – First round
The Boston Celtics are looking to get the job done in Game 5 when they host the Miami Heat at TD Garden on Wednesday.
Can the Heat survive in the series?
The Miami Heat came into this series out of the play-in tournament, and it seems like their season is coming to an end. They stole Game 2 in Boston, but then they stood no chance in the next two games at home. The Heat were outplayed in every aspect of the game. They shot only 40.7% from the field and 27.3% from deep. Bam Adebayo scored 25 points and had 17 rebounds. Tyler Herro added 19 points, and Caleb Martin added 18.
Is this the season for the Celtics?
The Boston Celtics were the best team in the league in the regular season and look really good at the moment. They absolutely dominated the Heat in Game 4, a 102-88 win. The Celtics were up by 17 at halftime and confidently closed out the game. Derrick White scored a career playoff high of 38 points, making 8 of 15 three-point attempts. Jayson Tatum added 20 points, and Jaylen Brown added 17.
Betting Trends
The Celtics have played over the total point margin in 12 of their last 18 games overall and in 7 of the last 10 games against teams from the Southeast Division. The Heat have gone over in 7 of their last 8 games on the road and 11 of the last 15 games against teams from the Eastern Conference.
Prediction and Conclusion
The Miami Heat stunned the Boston Celtics last year in the Eastern Conference finals, winning Game 7 on the road. The Celtics have learned from that and will not put themselves even close to such a situation. Without Jimmy Butler, the Heat are not even close to being a problem for the Celtics, even though they won the last one in Boston. The Celtics dominated the last two games of the series on the road, and things will go in the same direction in Game 5. The Celtics are -13.5-point favorites, a spread they covered in both of the previous two games. Still, there is a better option to go with than the Cetlics covering the spread. The total point margin is set at only 199.5. The truth is that both of the last two games ended under this line, but with the Heat having nothing to lose and the possibility that the Celtics will get the job done by halftime, we will see many points in garbage time that will take this game over the given point line.
