Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Prediction, Preview, and Odds – 12-2-2022

Miami will try to bounce back from its loss at Boston on Wednesday when the teams meet in a rematch on Friday night. The Heat were riding a three-game winning streak prior to their 134-121 setback in Boston on Wednesday. The Celtics are the hottest team in the NBA, winning 14 of their last 15 games.

Miami has struggled with consistency issues this season, as only one of its losses has been a standalone loss that was not paired with another setback. The Heat have also gone on a few winning streaks, though, so they are only two games below the .500 mark heading into this game. They won three straight games last week, beating Washington twice and Atlanta once. Their streak came to an end on Wednesday, falling to Boston by 13 points. They gave up 49 points to Boston’s Jayson Tatum, which was his third game of at least 40 points this year.

The Heat still have some of the best defensive numbers in the NBA even after allowing 134 points though, ranked eighth in the league in points allowed per game (110.0). Their offense has left plenty to be desired, listed at No. 27 in points per game (109.0). They are playing their third game of a four-game road trip and their seventh road game in a nine-game stretch. Six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler has missed the past seven games with a knee injury and is questionable to play on Friday. He is averaging 20.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists, and he is also the catalyst of the defense. Bam Adebayo has been the leading scorer in the last three games, eclipsing the 30-point mark twice.

No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $50 1st w/ promocode WandW!

  
Read Full Article