Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 24/05/2022, 19:26  by Joseph King | Modified on 25/05/2022 at 02:26 in Basketball Predictions

Knotted up at 2-2, the NBA Eastern Conference Finals heads back to Miami for a decisive game five between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. A strong defensive display from Boston coupled with an ice-cold shooting night for the Heat resulted in the Celtics comfortably taking game four by a score of 102-82. Despite the tough loss, the top-seeded Heat are still well positioned with two of the next three possible games in Miami. Game five in this situation often proves to be pivotal, as the team who wins historically goes on to win the series 82% of the time. Both teams have to deal with their fair share of injury concerns in what has been a classically physical Eastern Conference showdown. Showing up as questionable on the injury report are: sixth-man of the year Tyler Herro (who missed game four) and starting point guard Kyle Lowry for the Heat, while Boston are preparing for the possibility that the defensive player of the year Marcus Smart will miss his second consecutive game as well. 

The Heat shot an abysmal 33% from the field in the game four loss in Boston while their starting five combined for a historically low 18 points on 7 of 36 shooting. We should expect a much improved performance from Miami in front of their home crowd as the Heat have been one of best teams in the NBA at bouncing back after a loss. We also expect the majority of the players listed as “questionable” on the injury report for the home team – names that include Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and PJ Tucker – to be able to suit up for this one, especially when considering that the Heat have a history of being cryptic with their injury news. A bright spot for Miami has been the play of Victor Oladipo, who has shown flashes of his former two-time All-Star and All-Defensive First Team self before he was ravaged by injuries. Miami might need Oladipo to play a bigger role if offensive spark Tyler Herro is unable to suit up for this one, as well as an increased reliance on star Jimmy Butler to drive the majority of their scoring.