The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat meet Sunday in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at the Kaseya Center. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
Boston Celtics Betting Preview
The Boston Celtics are averaging 114.9 points on 48.8 percent shooting and allowing 109.5 points on 45 percent shooting. Jayson Tatum is averaging 28.7 points and 10.5 rebounds, while Jaylen Brown is averaging 23.9 points and 3.5 assists. Marcus Smart is the third double-digit scorer and Malcolm Brogdon is grabbing 3.9 rebounds. The Boston Celtics are shooting 38.6 percent from beyond the arc and 81.9 percent from the free throw line. The Boston Celtics are allowing 36.3 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 42.7 rebounds per game.
Miami Heat Betting Preview
The Miami Heat are averaging 113.8 points on 47.3 percent shooting and allowing 109.1 points on 46.1 percent shooting. Jimmy Butler is averaging 31.1 points and 6.6 rebounds, while Bam Adebayo is averaging 18.5 points and 9.7 rebounds. Caleb Martin is the third double-digit scorer and Gabe Vincent is grabbing 1.6 rebounds. The Miami Heat are shooting 37.6 percent from beyond the arc and 80.3 percent from the free throw line. The Miami Heat are allowing 33.5 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 41.1 rebounds per game.
Trends
The Celtics are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games and 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games overall. The Heat are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 home games and 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games overall. The over is 10-3 in Celtics last 13 overall. The over is 21-7 in Heat last 28 overall. The Celtics are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Miami and 0-4 ATS in the last 4 meetings.
Randy’s Pick
The Boston Celtics are getting the benefit of the doubt because this is their season, as the series is all but done if they go down 0-3. However, the Heat has looked like the better team this series, they're at home with the better coach, and they've dominated in this underdog role all playoffs. In fact, the Heat has covered 9 of their last 12 playoff games as an underdog, and 8 of those covers were outright victories. Oh, the Heat also has lost just one home game since March 26, which was the play-in game against the Hawks. I'll gladly grab the free bucket.
