Miami Heat at Boston Celtics Betting Preview/Prop Picks

After finally snapping a four-game losing streak, the Miami Heat face the Boston Celtics. Both of these teams are fighting for control over the Eastern Conference. The Heat, currently holding the top spot, would like to keep it that way.

However, finding a way to stop Jayson Tatum isn't an easy task. Miami will need to pull out all the stops on offense and defense to slow down Boston.

The Boston Celtics find themselves at the No.3 position in the Eastern Conference. They're currently only one game behind the Miami Heat, though. If they can get a win here, they could pass them up again.

It's going to take a lot of work from the Celtics' offense, but they've beaten the Heat before. So, between these two teams, who should you take on Wednesday night?

Miami Heat: After cooling down, Miami's getting back to work

Tempers flared on the sideline in their game against the Warriors, which led to a four-game losing streak. However, the streak came to a close with their 123-100 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Tonight, they'll look to use their defense to slow down the high-scoring offense of the Celtics. Jimmy Butler will be tasked with guarding Jayson Tatum, giving the Heat an advantage.

On average, the Miami Heat only allow 105.16 points per game, ranking 4th in the NBA. If they can stop Tatum, they can stop the Celtics.

Now that the injury report has come out, we've seen that Tatum is listed as "day-to-day." He'll likely play but could only be on the floor for a limited time. We'll have to see how it plays out, but it's important to remember his impact on the Celtics.

Boston Celtics: Eyes set on dethroning the Miami Heat

The Celtics held the No.1 spot for a short time in the Eastern Conference. After having a taste of it, they'll look to reclaim it, or at least get closer, tonight. The Celtics average 110.75 points per game, ranking 14th overall.

They also know how to get to the foul line and have an incredible 81.76% free-throw percentage. Finding multiple ways to score is how the Boston Celtics win.

As we mentioned, Tatum is on the day-to-day list right now but is likely to play. In their recent game against the Heat, the Celtics won 122-92 and were playing at home as well.

Today, they don't come in as very heavy favorites, just 4.5-points. So, how do they get past the defense of the Heat? It starts with getting to the foul line and creating better opportunities for your scorers.

Miami Heat at Boston Celtics Betting Pick

The Celtics come into this game as 4.5-point favorites, not a large margin to cover. Because of this and the fact that they beat the Heat so badly before, we'll take Boston.

Boston is 2-1 against the spread in their last three games against Miami. Tonight, they don't have to cover a lot of points, which definitely helps.

When they last played the Heat, they easily won 122-92, and this was in the middle of a Heat hot streak. Look for Boston's offense to fight through the tough exterior of the Heat in tonight's game.

We'd also recommend taking the under here since we feel Boston will do most of the scoring. 

DunkelIndex Free Betting Pick: Boston Celtics -4.5, UNDER

Prop Picks

Miami (-110) UNDER 104.5 Points

Boston is allowing 104.0 points per game on defense, which ranks No. 1 in the league, while holding teams to 43.2 percent shooting from the field and 33.6 percent from 3-pt range, both which rank No. 1. Scores have gone UNDER in four of the Celtics’ last five games following a loss (Boston lost to Toronto on Monday).

With Dunkel predicting a Boston victory by the score of 112-100, take the Heat (-110) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 104.5 points against the Celtics.

Jayson Tatum (-120) OVER 27.5 Points

Tatum is averaging 27.1 points per game, which ranks No. 1 on the Celtics and No. 8 in the league. That average increases to 28.8 points per game in Boston wins and 31.1 points per game over his last 10 games overall.

With Dunkel predicting a Celtics victory tonight, take Tatum (-120) to continue to lead the way on the offensive end and go OVER 27.5 points against the Heat.

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