Miami Heat at Boston Celtics Game 3 Betting Preview/Prop Picks

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics are set for Game 3 of the series. At the moment, the series is tied 1-1 after the Heat won Game 2.

With the competition heating up, the Heat now has to head to Boston to play the Celtics. To win on the road, the Heat will need to put up another strong offensive performance. Their defense, yet again, will have to play tough against Boston.

The Boston Celtics gave up a tough 127-102 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 2. As we enter Game 3, the Celtics will get a few of their best players back.

The question is, can they find a way to rally back against the Heat tonight? They'll get to play at home, which should give them a slight advantage. They also come into this game as 6.5-point favorites tonight.

Miami Heat: A strong offensive output is needed in this game

What we saw from the Heat in Game 2 was that their offense can put up a lot of points. Jimmy Butler put up 29 points, shooting 11 for 18 from the field.

Perhaps the most impressive bit was Gabe Vincent, who started at point guard for Kyle Lowry. Surprisingly enough, Vincent put up 14 points. Unfortunately, Vincent is questionable for tonight's game with a hamstring injury.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Heat performed remarkably well. They held the Celtics to 102 points in the game and forced Marcus Smart to shoot 8 for 22.

They'll likely try to come into the game and do the same thing tonight. Playing tough defense is needed against the Celtics, especially against Jayson Tatum. If they can do that, the Miami Heat could get a road win.

Boston Celtics: Horford & Smart are good to go again

The good news for the Celtics is that they'll continue to have Al Horford and Marcus Smart. With both of them in the lineup, the Celtics' offense is ready to go.

They were caught off-guard in Game 2 but should have a game plan to fix their mistakes. If you look at their outing in Game 2, they still shot over 50% from the field. They were also 50% exactly from the three-point line.

At the moment, only a single player has been ruled out for the Celtics. Small forward, Sam Hauser, has been ruled out. This injury won't be very significant for the Celtics, and they should be able to easily overcome it.

The main question is whether or not they can cover 6.5 points at home tonight. After seeing what they did in Game 1, we think the answer is yes.

Miami Heat at Boston Celtics Betting Pick

The Heat were able to come away with a win in Game 2, which was impressive. However, they still had trouble slowing down Jayson Tatum, who scored 29 points.

As we enter Game 3, the Celtics now have the benefit of playing at home. The points spread is slightly larger than we'd like, but Boston is equipped to cover it.

With Kyle Lowry and the rest of the Heat's injury list growing, we have to take Boston here. We'll also pair this with the over since each offense has put up some great numbers so far. The total has gone over in four of Boston's last five games.

DunkelIndex Free Pick: Boston Celtics -6.5, OVER

Prop Picks

Boston (-110) OVER 107.5 Points

Boston is averaging 111.8 points per game on offense, which ranks No. 12 in the league. That average increases to 113.8 points per game in the Celtics’ last five wins. Scores have gone OVER in five of Boston’s last six games after scoring more than 125 points in the previous game.

With Dunkel predicting a Boston victory by the score of 115-100, take the Celtics (-110) to finish OVER their Vegas team total of 107.5 points against the Heat.

Jaylen Brown (-125) OVER 23.5 Points

Brown averaged 23.6 points per game in 66 games during the regular season, which ranked No. 2 on the Celtics. That average remained steady at 23.6 points per game in 43 games during Boston wins.

With Dunkel predicting a Celtics’ win with the point total going OVER the Vegas total, take Brown (-125) to finish OVER his Vegas point total of 23.5 points against Miami.

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