We're Going To South Beach!

Miami is hosting Boston in the ECF, and it'll be a battle between two elite defenses. Whichever team can squeak out enough offense will likely have the edge in the series šŸæ (3 min read)

Author

Will Gendron
May 17, 2022

Shoutout Raymond & Karaya who are getting Overtime drip. Tonight's parlay is Heat -1.5 and Under 204 total points. More info below on a chance to win $100 šŸ‘‡

The Future Of The NBA Is Now

The two best words in sports are "Game Seven." If a series manages to make it that far, chances are you're in for a dramatic finish. Now that we're a bit removed from Sunday's action, here's a brief recap of what went down šŸ‘‡

  • Anti-climatic endings: Unfortunately neither game ended up living up to expectations, as Boston cruised past Milwaukee, 109-81, and Dallas obliterated Phoenix, 123-90

  • The Celtics shot the lights out, going 22-55 from deep, while the Bucks dealt with a cold streak at the worst time, only managing to convert on 4 of their 33 three-point attempts

  • Meanwhile, Luka Doncic had as many pts in the first half (27) as the entirety of the Suns' team

  • With Doncic and Jayson Tatum headlining their respective Conference Finals, it feels like the NBA is moving into a different era

Before we look ahead to the Game 1 ECF match-up between Miami and Boston, let's get a temperature check on NBA title/finals odds šŸ†

  • Golden State: +130 (bet $100, win $130)

  • Boston: +210

  • Miami: +430

  • Dallas: +650

  • Boston vs. Golden State: +130

  • Miami vs. Golden State: +260

  • Boston vs. Dallas: +350

  • Miami vs. Dallas: +600

Celtics @ Heat Preview

The common thread between the final four teams remaining in the playoffs is defense. Boston, Dallas, Golden State, and Miami all had the top four defenses in the regular season. But Boston and Miami are in a class of their own ā€” expect this ECF to be a dog fight šŸ’Ø

  • Shotmaking between Jimmy Butler (28.7 PPG) and Jayson Tatum (28.3 PPG) will most likely be the deciding factor in this series; whichever team manages to slow down the other's superstar will be something to look out for

  • Can Boston's role players continue to light it up from distance? Grant Williams managed to hit seven threes and took the most shots for Boston in their Game 7 win, a trend that could open up the half-court for Tatum and Jaylen Brown

  • If Boston's game-plan focuses on neutralizing Butler as a scorer, Tyler Herro is going to have to increase his own scoring production (13.8 PPG so far) for the Heat to have a chance

Last time both of these teams met in the conference finals was during the 2020 bubble run, where the Heat punched their ticket to the finals in six games. Both of these teams have enjoyed a lot of postseason success the last few years, with Butler leading the Heat to the ECFs in 2 out of his 3 years in Miami. Tatum and Brown are also in familiar territory

Celtics vs Heat Betting Preview (subject to change)

  • Spread: Heat -1.5

  • Moneyline: Heat -126 (bet $126 to win $100), Celtics +108 (bet $100 to win $108)

  • O/U: 204

Trivia Question: Can you name the highest scoring players in playoff elimination games in the modern NBA? (answer below)

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

For My Parlay Gurus

I think the Heat will come out with a defensive game-plan that the Celtics haven't seen yet, considering Erik Spoelstra is one of the NBA's best tacticians - look for Miami to force anyone but Tatum and Brown to beat them. Throw in the fact that the Heat have home court and I like their chances in Game 1. I'm also riding with a low-scoring game, check it out šŸ‘‡

  • Heat -1.5 vs. Celtics: -110

  • Under 204 total points: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $264 ā€” if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win šŸ˜‰

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Trivia Answer: Luka Doncic averages the most PPG in elimination games at 39, followed by LeBron (33.5 PPG), MJ (31.3 PPG) and Wilt Chamberlain (31.1 PPG)

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