Scoreboard	1	2	3	4	Odds
Miami Heat 44-29	28	19	37	22	+208.5
Boston Celtics 48-24	31	29	17	24	-3

Scoreboard

Odds

Miami Heat 44-29

+208.5

Boston Celtics 48-24

-3

NBA
Andrew Rogers
September 16, 2020

Heat vs. Celtics Game 2 Prediction: NBA Playoff Odds, Point Spread

The Miami Heat are three wins away from being the lowest seeded team to make the NBA Finals in 25 years. The Boston Celtics still stand in the Heat’s way and are short favourites for the Game 2 matchup on Thursday night.

NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis

Miami improved to 9-1 straight up and against the spread in this year’s playoffs following its Game 1 win over the Boston Celtics. The Heat are now -164 favourites to win the Eastern Conference and +475 to win the 2020 NBA championship. By those odds, their implied probabilities are 62.1 percent chance of winning the East and 17.4 to win the title.

The team owns by far the playoff best clutch (five minutes or less in games when with five-point or smaller differentials) net rating (+27.1) in the Eastern Conference. That was on full display in Game 1 when Miami outscored Boston by 12 in the fourth quarter to push the contest to overtime.

The Celtics had a chance to tie the score in the final seconds of overtime but Jayson Tatum was met at the rim with a miracle block by Bam Adebayo. Boston is now 2-3 SU and ATS in its last five playoff games, and 0-2 (SU & ATS) in its last two matchups with Miami.

Sports Interaction lists the Celtics as +137 underdogs to make it out of the East and +550 to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

About 59 percent of SIA bettors are backing the C’s to cover as 2.5-point chalk on Thursday while 61 percent expect the game to go Over the 208.5-point total.

Miami Heat

Adebayo’s last-second, game-saving block was a true “wow” moment of these playoffs. The All-Star big man finished Game 1 with 18 points, nine assists, six rebounds and two blocks. He is absolutely a problem for the Celtics front line.

Boston Celtics

Bam isn’t the only problem for Boston. Kemba Walker continues to be preyed upon by opposing teams. Miami hunts for matchups when the vertically challenged point guard is forced to guard Jimmy Butler. Butler made three of his four shot attempts with Walker on him in Game 1.

Celtics wing Gordon Hayward is considered questionable to play in Game 2. He hasn’t played since the first game of the playoffs because of a bad ankle sprain.