Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Prediction, 10/21/2022 Preview and Pick

Game: Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat

Date: Friday, October 21, 2022

Location: FTX Arena in Miami, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

The Boston Celtics are headed to FTX Arena on Friday where they will try to defeat the Miami Heat.

The Celtics played the 76ers and walked away with a win by a score of 126-117 in their last contest. Boston ended the game having earned a 56.1% FG percentage (46 out of 82) and buried 12 of their 35 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Celtics converted 22 of 28 attempts for a percentage of 78.6%. In reference to pulling down boards, they earned 36 with 6 of them being offensive. They also dished out 24 assists in this game in addition to forcing 14 turnovers and earning 8 steals. When it comes to defending, Boston allowed 50.0% from the floor on 40 out of 80 shooting. Philadelphia doled out 16 assists and had 8 steals in this game. Moreover, Philadelphia grabbed 31 boards (4 offensive, 27 defensive) and had 3 rejections. Philadelphia finished the contest at 85.7% from the charity stripe by converting 24 of their 28 attempts. They buried 13 of their 34 attempts from 3-point land. In relation to fouls, the Celtics ended up finishing with 24 while the 76ers totaled 25 fouls.

Jayson Tatum is one player who was a major factor for the game. He left the arena with 35 points on 13 of 20 shooting. He saw the court for 39 minutes and grabbed 12 rebounds. Tatum finished shooting 65.0% from the field and also totaled 4 assists.

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Boston enters this matchup after finishing with a record of 51-31 last year. They turned it over 13.6 times per game and as a squad committed 18.5 personal fouls every game. As a basketball team, Boston pulled down 46.1 boards per contest and earned 2,036 dimes last season, which had them ranked 14th in the league in terms of passing. The Celtics shot 35.6% on shots from distance (1,085 of 3,044) and 81.6% from the free throw line. They averaged 111.8 points per outing (12th in the NBA) while shooting 46.6% from the floor.

Defensively, the Celtics were able to force 13.8 turnovers every game and they drew 19.4 personal fouls. They conceded 33.9% on 3-pointers and they were 1st in the NBA in points per game allowed (104.5). The Celtics defense allowed an opponent shooting percentage of 43.4% (3,137 of 7,221) and they relinquished 43.7 rebounds per contest as a unit. They were ranked 1st in the NBA in giving up assists with 1,773 relinquished last season.

For their last game, the Heat took a loss by a final score of 116-108 when they faced the Bulls. The Heat pulled down 38 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 46 for this contest. They turned the ball over 19 times, while earning 6 steals for this contest. The Bulls earned 26 fouls in the game which took the Heat to the charity stripe for a total of 28 tries. They were able to make 22 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 78.6%. Concerning shots from distance, Miami made 12 out of their 28 attempts (42.9%). Overall, the Heat went 37 for 80 from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.3%. The Heat allowed the Bulls to make 41 of 93 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.1% for this contest. They went 36.1% from behind the 3-point line by going 13 of 36 and finished the contest at 21 of 28 from the free throw line (75.0%). In relation to team rebounding, Miami allowed Chicago to collect 46 overall (12 on the offensive side).

Jimmy Butler ended up being a major contributor for the Heat in the game. He converted 5 out of 11 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 45.5%, and added 8 rebounds. Butler totaled 24 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 3 assists for this contest.

Miami had a record of 53-29 last season. The Heat were responsible for committing 20.5 fouls per game and they connected on 80.8% from the charity stripe. They assisted teammates 25.5 times per contest (8th in the league) and they turned the ball over 14.6 times per contest. Miami earned 9,022 points throughout last season (110.0 per game) and they grabbed 43.7 boards per game. As an offense, the Heat shot 46.7% from the field, which was ranked 13th in the NBA.

The Heat on defense were ranked 4th in the league in points per game surrendered with 105.6. They were able to force 15.0 TO's per game and let teams shoot 44.7% from the field (4th in the NBA). The Miami defense allowed 33.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (1,064 of 3,138) and opponents connected on 77.9% of their foul shots. They surrendered 23.3 dimes and 41.7 boards per contest, which ranked them 4th and 2nd in those defensive categories.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Miami

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