It were the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics who played in the Eastern Conference finals in the 2019-20 play-offs. Spoelstra’s side closed that series in six meetings, although the Celtics had a home-court advantage. This time around, the Heat have the advantage of starting in the home stadium of the FTX Arena. The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics will face each other in the Eastern Conference Finals. The game is scheduled to start on May 18 at 01:30 UK time.
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Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction One – Handicap (-2) for Heat – 1.98.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction Two – Total Match Points Over 204.5 – 2.00.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction Three – Heat Points Over 102.5 – 1.93.
Both teams deservedly made it to the Eastern Conference final. The Boston Celtics will start the third round of the playoffs on the road, after a seven-game winning streak against the Milwaukee Bucks, so it will be difficult to recover quickly. The Celtics are unlikely to go down without a fight, but the advantage is still on their opponent’s side.
The Miami Heat will play at home and that’s a big advantage. The Heat have not lost on the home court since the start of the playoffs and don’t plan to. We expect the home side to show class and defeat their opponent.
Of course, the teams do not have as much energy left as at the start, but the ticket to the final is at stake, so no one is going to give up. In our opinion, the rivals won’t feel sorry for each other.
In four of their last five home games, the Heat have scored more than 102.5 points.
https://t.co/Pqxh2ExSNm – Series preview: Heat, Celtics square off with Finals berth on the line
Miami has home-court advantage, while Boston has depth and enters the East finals riding a stifling defense.
➡️ https://t.co/rDfvYuq0Cq pic.twitter.com/BXNinijXRq
— NBA (@NBA)
Miami Heat:
The Heat have been strong this season and first place in the Eastern Conference only confirms that fact. Erik Spoelstra has successfully recruited the core of the team, so it was no surprise to see his team succeed during the playoffs.
The Miami Heat defeated the Atlanta Hawks (4-1) without much trouble and then took on the Philadelphia 76ers, meaning that they had to put in more effort. However, the motivation and desire to be better gave the club the result they needed (4-2). In the last meeting, the Sixers had a chance to tie the series, but Jimmy Butler and company put up a good fight (99-90).
In the last game of the series against the 76ers, Jimmy Butler scored 32 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
A series against the Boston Celtics and a battle for a trip to the finals lay ahead.
The Eastern Conference Finals stage is set for 2 teams that have proven to be very good at preventing their opponents from scoring@CoupNBA goes inside our matchup with Boston, which may end up being one of the greatest defensive battles in recent history
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT)
Boston Celtics:
If you consider the whole season, the Celtics have managed to rebuild well, survived more than one setback and generally emerged as one of the leaders in the East. Ime Udoka managed not only to continue the work of Brad Stevens but also to teach the players some of his philosophy.
The Boston Celtics left no chance for the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs, which they won in just four games, but then the real battle started against reigning champions from Milwaukee. Their opponent never thought they’d lose, but the series dragged on and the Celtics showed character in the seventh game of the series (109-81).
In the last game of the series against the Bucks, Grant Williams scored 27 points and 6 rebounds.
attack mode from the start pic.twitter.com/DKsctdLk81
— Boston Celtics (@celtics)
Safe Bets and Statistics
- The Heat are committing 20.9 fouls per game;
- The Celtics are committing 22.5 fouls per game;
- The Boston Celtics are averaging 6.9 steals per game;
- Jayson Tatum averages 31.8 points per game after a day of rest.
- Jimmy Butler is averaging 28.7 points per game in the playoffs.
- The Boston Celtics have an offensive rating of 112.5 in the playoffs.
- The Miami Heat have an offensive rating of 114.4 in the playoffs.
- In four of the last five head-to-head encounters, the game started with an accurate two-point shot.
Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics Team News
Kyle Lowry (Out), Caleb Martin (Day-to-day), Gabe Vincent (Day-to-day), Max Strus (Day-to-day) and P.J. Tucker (Day-to-day) are listed as injured for the Miami Heat.
Sam Hauser (Out) and Marcus Smart (Day-to-day) are listed as injured for the Boston Celtics.
Starting Lineups
In our opinion, the teams will take to the field with the following line-ups:
Miami Heat: PG – Gabe Vincent; SG – Max Strus; SF – Jimmy Butler; PF – PJ Tucker; C – Bam Adebayo.
Boston Celtics: PG – Marcus Smart; SG – Jaylen Brown; SF – Jayson Tatum; PF – Al Horford; C – Robert Williams III.
Highlighted Player
Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat and Jayson Tatum from the Boston Celtics are our highlighted players in the match.
Most popular FAQ for Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics
Who won the last meeting between these clubs?
The Celtics were stronger (2-1) in the regular season. In the last head-to-head game on March 31, the Miami Heat defeated Boston Celtics with a score of 106-98.
Where will this fixture be played?
The match will be played at FTX Arena, Miami, FL.
Which bookmaker has the best odds for this game?
We recommend checking out the odds for NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Vbet and William Hill.
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