For me, one of the best games to try and handicap is when you get a pair of teams that are about as close to one another as it gets. When you look at the Eastern Conference right now, you might well focus on the battle at the top between the Cavaliers and the Raptors, or you may look at the final few playoff spots and see how tight it’s becoming there. What I see is the little battle going on between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat for the #3 spot in the East. There is just one game separating those two teams right now, but that is all about to change when they go head to head in the TD Garden on Saturday afternoon. This is what matinee basketball viewing is all about, so let’s break this one down before we check the updated NBA online betting spread to get out wagers on.

Bet on Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics NBA Odds

When: Saturday, February 27 Where: TD Garden, Boston at 3 PM EST TV: SUN and CSNN Radio: WAXY and WBZ-FM NBA Odds: TBA

Why bet on the Miami Heat

You have to feel a little bit of sympathy for the Heat (32-25) after their performance against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. They went head to head with the best team in the league, but were powerless to stop Steph Curry, who posted 42 points on the night. It was a solid performance by the Heat in the 118-112 loss, but one that really isn’t so surprising given how well they have been playing of late. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games but had strung together a 3-game winning streak before falling to the Warriors. Miami are above .500 at 14-13 on the road this season, but it should be noted that they won both games they played in Boston last season. The Heat are averaging 97.1 PPG, and are giving up 96.9 PPG.

Why bet on the Boston Celtics

While the Celtics are a healthy 7-3 in their last 10 games, the majority of the wins came at the start of this 10-game stretch. They have been playing a little bit of win one lose one ball over the past couple of weeks, and need to get back to a better level of consistency if they hope to hold on to that #3 spot in the Eastern Conference. The good news for Boston is that they just started a run of games that will see them play 7 of 8 games at home. They beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the Garden earlier this week to stretch their home record to 18-10 this season. They also took the first game of the season against Miami with a convincing 105-95 win on the road.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

This is definitely not an easy game to handicap, but I believe you have to give the slight edge to the Celtics on home court. This will be a close one, I believe, but I think it will be Boston that comes out on top.