The door for the Eastern Conference playoff spots has already been closed and we now know the eight teams that will be squaring it out in the postseason games for a chance to play in Eastern Conference Championship game. Fortunately or unfortunately, only the top two seeds (No. 1 Cleveland and No. 2 Toronto) and the final two seeds (No. 7 Indiana and No. 8 Detroit) have been locked up, meaning we will have to wait until the end of Wednesday’s regular-season finale matchups to know how the No. 3 to No. 8 seeds will figure out. One of these crucial Wednesday NBA betting games with mega playoff implications will be the clash between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, currently placed third and fifth, respectively, in the conference standings.
The Heat have an opportunity to stay put at No. 3 or drop as low as No. 5 in the East while the Celtics can climb as high as No. 4 or drop to No. 6, depending on the outcomes of Wednesday’s games. For the Heat, there is even more at stake for them in the NBA online betting lines, as they could clinch the Southeast divisional title with a win over Boston (plus a loss for Atlanta in its Wednesday road season-finale at Washington). Essentially, that’s the reason the Celtics @ Heat matchup is circled as arguably the most important game in the Eastern Conference this Wednesday. A quick guide on how to watch and bet on this game is briefly detailed for you below.
Miami Heat at Boston Celtics NBA Odds Analysis
When: Wednesday, April 13, 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: TD Garden, Boston
TV: ESPN/ SUN/ CSNN
NBA Lines: TBA
Why Bet on Miami
Having won four of their last five overall games, including Tuesday’s 99-93 road win over Detroit, the Heat will come into this game fancying their chances of recording another road victory, one that would give them an outright fifth Southeast title in the last six year. Key to a victory will be Miami’s defense that has held four of its last five opponents to 99-or-fewer points (the exception being the 112-109 road loss at Orlando). This means that Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic—minus the tooth he lost yesterday against the Pistons—will need to be in their best element, with Dwayne Wade and Co. also doing their thing in the offense.
Why Bet on Boston
With back-to-back losses against Atlanta (on the road) and Charlotte (at home) in their last two games, the Celtics have quickly moved from a potential No. 3 seed to a middle-table team in the East. And with just one game to go, the Celtics cannot afford any more losses, especially if they are to clinch homecourt advantage for the first round of the playoffs. The good news for Coach Brad Stevens’squad is that Boston has been superb at home recently. Put into perspective, Monday’s loss to Charlotte was just Boston’s third defeat in the team’s last 21 contests at the TD Garden. Against a Miami team whose road win over Detroit was just the Heat’s second win in six road contests, Isaiah Thomas (Boston’s leading scorer and assister) and his Green and White Army are guaranteed to be a tough test. A strong Boston performance should especially be encouraged by the fact that the Celtics have won their two meetings against Miami this season, emerging victorious in both games by double-digits (101-89, 105-95).
Miami at Boston Expert NBA Picks and Predictions
Although the Celtics haven’t swept a regular-season series from the Heat since winning three games in the 2009-10 season; things look gloomy for Miami in this game, owing to their concerning road record in recent games and the way Boston has dominated them so far this season. But then again, Miami is hell-bent on wanting to win the Southeast divisional title and if it can give another solid performance like the one we saw yesterday at Detroit, then maybe the Celtics could be found wanting, as was exhibited in Boston’s home game against Charlotte on Monday. All in all, I am leaning on Boston to close the season in style with a home win, though Miami will most-likely keep this game close using its improved offense that has been hitting the 100-point scoring mark quite frequently since the start of March 2016.
