The Miami Heat are in the heads of the Boston Celtics following their win on Thursday night to go up 2-0 in their best of seven game series. The Heat have a chance to go up 3-0 for a second straight playoff series when the two sides do battle on Saturday.

NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis

How many times do they have to get beat by the Heat for NBA bookmakers to change up the script? Miami is a 3-point underdog in Game 3 despite the team’s incredible run in these playoffs. 

The Heat improved to 10-1 straight up and against the spread since the start of the postseason. The craziest part? They’ve been underdogs seven of their last eight games (including Game 3 on Saturday)

Miami is a -357 favourite to win the East now that the club is just two wins shy of its first Finals appearance since 2014. The team the Heat are expected to meet in the Finals? Well that would be LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers. It certainly would be an interesting storyline to see LeBron’s new team against one of his former franchises. 

The Lakers are the favourites to win the NBA title at Sports Interaction at -455. The Heat are the next closest at +350. The Celtics, despite already being down 0-2 in the conference finals, are tied with the Denver Nuggets for the longest title odds at +900. The Nuggets and Lakers tip off the Western Finals on Friday.

Boston continues to falter in the second half against Miami. The Celtics led by 12 at halftime of Game 2 and by the same margin after the third quarter in Game 1. The Heat won both contests. Might be something to keep in mind for live bettors in Game 3.

Boston Celtics

Marcus Smart was not pleased following the conclusion of Thursday’s game. He was heard yelling from the Celtics’ locker room according to reporters on the scene in the bubble. Smart has been one of the most consistent performers for the C’s in these playoffs. No doubt he’s demanding more from his teammates.

Boston head coach Brad Stevens met with several players – including Smart – late Thursday night after the game to smooth things over. Will it be enough to get the team back on track in this series?

Miami Heat

Bam Adebayo is continuing his dominating run. The All-Star big man had a meh first half in Game 2, but head coach Erik Spolestra challenged Bam to up his play at halftime. Adebayo scored 17 of his 21 points in the final two frames on 8-for-10 shooting from the field.

Who Will Win Celtics vs. Heat?

CELTICS

Away

108

HEAT

Home

105

Score
Predictions

Matchup