Heat vs Celtics Betting Prediction and Odds May 25
Heat vs Celtics Predictions and Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics preview for Wednesday, May 25. At the time of posting, the home Heat are a 3-point underdog against the road Celtics with the total sitting at 204 points.
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| Wednesday, May 25 | NBA Playoffs Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Miami Heat +3 vs Boston Celtics |
| Total: | 204 Points |
| Game Time: | 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT |
| Arena: | FTX Arena in Miami, FL |
| TV: | ESPN |
Heat vs Celtics Analysis
The Boston Celtics travel to South Beach for a pivotal Game 5 against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. These teams are all tied up 2-2 after the Celtics dominated Game 4 in Boston.
The Celtics jumped out to a 29-11 1st quarter lead and never let up and ultimately won 102-82. Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with 31 points. While Victor Oladipo paced Miami with 23 points in the loss.
Momentum has shifted hands several times as these evenly matched teams have alternated blowout wins and losses. Both teams know how important Game 5 is in a best of seven series, especially when it’s tied 2-2.
In all the best of seven series in NBA history that were tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has won the series 82.8% of the time with a 164-34 record. Tip-off for Game 5 is scheduled for 8:30 PM EST/5:30 PST.
Heat Hope Series Trend Continues
The Miami Heat are coming off an ugly display where they were absolutely dismantled from start to finish. The Heat fell behind 29-11 in the 1st quarter and were never able to bounce back.
They shot a horrible 33.3% from the field and actually shot a higher percentage from long distance at 38.9%.
They also got eaten alive on the boards to the tune of 60-39. Miami has an extensive list of questionable players that includes, P.J. Tucker, Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus.
If they want to prevail tonight, they will need better offensive efforts from both Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Butler going 3 for 14 for 6 points and Adebayo going 3 for 5 for 9 points isn’t going to cut it.
They also need to shut down Jayson Tatum as that has been the key to their victories so far. However they simply can’t get out rebounded by 20+ again and expect a victory.
Celts Aim For Control Of Series
On Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics have a chance to take their first lead in the series in an all-important Game 5. Similar to their last series against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Celtics have fallen behind 1-0 and 2-1 and responded with crucial victories in on both occasions.
The #1 defense in the league was in fine form as they limited Miami to only 30 for 90 from the field for a pathetic 33.3%. The Celtics actually didn’t shoot very well themselves, only hitting 40% from the field and a minuscule 23.5% from beyond the arc.
They basically built up a huge early lead and played keep away in the 2nd half. They did dominate the paint and the glass as they out rebounded Miami by 21 and blocked an amazing 11 shots.
Jayson Tatum bounced back from a poor ten-point performance to score 31 in Game 4. The big question marks for tonight are the injury status of both Marcus Smart and Robert Williams, if both are good to go it could be a long night for the Heat.
Heat vs Celtics Prediction
The Boston Celtics are 2.5 point road favorites with a total of only 204. It makes it tough to pick a side when you don’t know which version of each team will show up. You have to assume that we will see better efforts from Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
However, a return of Marcus Smart could also provide Boston with a much needed boost. Both teams have defenses that rank top five across the board, but that hasn’t hurt the over as one team is consistently running rough shot over the other.
In fact, the over is 3-1 in this series and Miami’s 82 points last game marked the first time that either team was held under 100 points.
Both teams have scorers that have underperformed who could bounce back tonight, Dropping this total to 204 seems like an overreaction to last game. I’ll take a small shot on the over 204 tonight.
Prediction: Over 204
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NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Wednesday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Heat vs Celtics playoff contest.
NBA Tip-Off Show
Join Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of professional handicappers for the NBA Tip-Off Show every Monday-Friday at 4:15pm ET / 1:15pm PT as we discuss tonight’s marquee games. Stay up-to-date on the latest NBA news, stats, analysis, and predictions with our panel of pro sports bettors as they preview all the playoff action, including this Heat vs Celtics clash.
WagerTalk NBA Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NBA point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all NBA Playoff games, including this Heat vs Celtics showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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Meet the Author
Andy Lang has lived in Indianapolis his whole life, and like most people from the Hoosier State, he became fascinated with motor sports. That interest in motor sports turned into a desire to make money off the sport through fantasy contests and sports betting. Like most, he took his lumps when he first got started, but now he is one of the most respected NASCAR bettors in the industry. Andy has expanded that sports betting experience to become profitable in a number of other sports, transforming this interest from a side hobby to a major source of income.
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