The Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat will meet for the third game of this opening round series here on Saturday night in Miami. In game number two the Miami Heat shocked everybody by picking up an upset victory over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. They will replicate that performance as they head home for the next two games of this series and take a huge two to one advantage going into game four later this week. Even without Jimmy Butler, the Miami Heat still find a way to haunt the Boston Celtics as they have been their kryptonite in the playoffs over the last several years.
That is a trend that Miami will look to keep alive with another upset victory here on Saturday evening in front of their home crowd. This is a pivotal matchup in this opening round series as the winner of this game will have plenty of momentum heading into game four in Miami and game five when the series heads back to Boston. Neither team can afford to allow this opportunity to slip away from them here on Saturday night as they look to take a massive advantage into the later matchups. Boston will look to prevent another upset from happening while Miami will try to ride a wave of momentum here in this one, even without Jimmy Butler, as they look to shut down Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and pick up another incredible victory on Saturday.
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History Between These Two Teams The Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat have had plenty of battles throughout the season and in past years in the playoffs. Which means these two teams are very familiar with each other coming into the third game of this first round series in Miami over the weekend. Which should provide us with another close and competitive matchup, even without Miami’s Jimmy Butler in the lineup. Saturday night's game should be more of the same that we’ve seen throughout the first two games of this series as I could easily go either way with the series coming to Miami and the Heat having all the momentum in this one.
This is the sixth meeting of the season between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics and in the regular season. It was Boston that took all three matchups. All five matchups this season between Miami and Boston have been high scoring with both teams eclipsing the 100 points each time. You can expect more of the same in the sixth meeting of the season between these two teams as they will likely both eclipse the century Mark once again on Saturday night. It was a double digit victory for the Miami Heat in game number two and they will look to replicate that performance here in the third game of the series.
Today’s Predictions As it pertains to the Eastern Conference throughout the first half of the opening round of the postseason, there have been plenty of upsets and Miami will look to further add to that list with another quality performance here on Saturday night. They come into this game as nearly a double digit point underdog in the betting market, but they showed the world in game two that it does not matter when it comes to this Miami Heat team. Even without their superstar player for the rest of this series and potentially the rest of the postseason as well. This is a gritty Miami Heat team that will fight until the final buzzer.
Three-point shooting was the story in Miami’s game two victory as the Heat hit 23 of them led by Tyler Herro, who had six of his own. He will need to replicate that individual performance and Miami will need to shoot the lights out from behind the ark once again if they want to be successful here on Saturday night at home. Cody Martin and Bam Adeybao also eclipse the 20 point mark for Miami in game two and that is another type of performance that will need to be replicated for the Heat to find a way to win against Boston here in this one.
I expect this to be a close and competitive game here on Saturday night in Miami, but in the end, I do look for the Boston Celtics to take a 2 to 1 advantage in the series. However, I do look for the Miami Heat to cover the spread here in this one being at home as I look for them to keep this game close throughout the majority of the contest before Boston gets a close victory at the final buzzer. I can easily see this game going back-and-forth throughout all four quarters but in the end I do look for Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown to lead the Boston Celtics to a much-needed victory here on Saturday night.
Tips For Betting Miami compiled a record of 22-19 at home this season, meanwhile, Boston was solid on the road with a record of 27-14. The Boston Celtics originally opened up as 4 1/2 point favorites coming into this game, but the spread has built all the way up to 9 1/2 heading into tip-off on Saturday evening. The total points over/under line is currently sitting at 202.5 which has been eclipsed every time these two teams have met this season.
The Pick: Miami Heat +9.5 (-110) Picks given are the opinion of the writer, not Elitepickz pros. To get picks from some of the sharpest minds in the industry, sign up here and use code AB15 for 15% off any pass!
