Celtics vs Heat Prediction
The Rematch of the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat Fight Against the Play-In
The Celtics will once again host the Heat tonight while looking to perform better than they did on Sunday afternoon. These two teams are neck and neck in the playoff race, with the Boston Celtics just two games behind the Miami Heat for the 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat come into tonight’s nationally televised game, having won 5 of their last 6 games. They are also looking for the 4th road win in a row. The Celtics are looking to avoid losing a third game in a row. They need to get back on track as the playoffs approach.
The regular season is ending very soon, and there is no time to waste. After tonight, both of these teams will just have three regular-season games to try and boost their way up in the standings.
Boston Searching For Answers
The Celtics will come into tonight losing 3 of their last 4 games. They lost to the Miami Heat by 6 points and struggled to stop the Heat offense. Evan Fournier led the way with 30 points, and Jayson Tatum was right behind him with 29.
The biggest problem for Boston has been the lack of offensive movement. The Heat defense forced players like Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum into tough shots the entire game on Sunday. If they want to be consistent on the offensive end, they’ll need some movement.
Boston has certainly struggled in these past few weeks due to a few different reasons. One of those reasons is that all-star guard Jaylen Brown has been out of the lineup. The Celtics just found out the news that he will miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his wrist. This is not a good sign for the C’s and their playoff chances.
The Celtics do have another all-star guard in Jayson Tatum. Tatum has been tearing up the league in his fourth year, averaging 26.3 points per game, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. All career highs. Jayson Tatum will be doing all he can tonight to lead the Celtics to victory.
Miami Staying Hot in Boston
The Miami Heat were able to win Sunday’s afternoon matchup by a comfortable 6 points. They have played very well and will look to continue to exploit the Brown-less Celtics. Jimmy Butler recorded a near triple-double with 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists.
The Heat were all-around scorers on Sunday, with Duncan Robinson dropping 22 on 6-10 from three-point land, Bam Adebayo chipping in 20, and Trevor Ariza contributing 19. The Heat were able to play with patience and flow two days ago and will look for the same result.
Victor Oladipo continues to remain sidelined, so Tyler Herro has to step up. He had a great stretch in the first half of the game where he scored all 12 of his points but then was sat down because he was being blown by every play. Herro needs to be more consistent overall for the Heat in the playoffs.
Miami has stayed hot at the right time. They own a record of 37-31 and are 9-3 in their past 12 games. If they continue to play defense the way they always have and shoot the ball well, they are bound to make another deep run into the playoffs.
Pick and Prediction
The Heat are -1 in today’s contest. This game will be extremely close because both teams have an incentive to play for. I still think the Heat are going to get the better of the Celtics and end up winning this game. I’ll take the Heat -1 against the struggling Celtics.
Tatum and Walker will put on a show with each of them recording 25 points or more. But it will be no match for the Jimmy Butler 30 points and 10 assists game he will produce and the 23 points and 8 rebound game Bam Adebayo will provide.
Pick: Heat -1
