Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 12/2/2022 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics

Date: Friday, December 2, 2022

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

The Miami Heat are en route to TD Garden on Friday where they will take on the Boston Celtics.

The Heat stepped onto the hardwood against the Celtics and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 134-121 in their last contest. Miami finished the contest with a 52.2% field goal percentage (47 of 90) and made 18 of their 40 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Heat made 9 of their 9 tries for a percentage of 100.0%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 32 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 25 dimes in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 17 turnovers and getting 8 steals. With regard to the defense, Miami allowed the other team to shoot 55.4% from the floor on 46 of 83 shooting. Boston distributed 32 dimes and had 7 steals in the matchup. Moreover, Boston had 41 boards (11 offensive, 30 defensive) and had 3 rejections. Boston finished 87.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 20 of their 23 attempts. They also knocked down 22 out of their 45 shots from distance. In reference to fouls, the Heat finished with 21 while the Celtics racked up 18 fouls.

Max Strus is one guy who played a role in the matchup. Strus ended up going 58.3% from the floor and distributed 2 dimes. He saw the court for 36 mins and also pulled down 1 rebound. He scored 23 points on 7 of 12 shooting.

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Miami steps onto the court with a mark of 10-12 so far this season. They are averaging 109.0 pts per game (27th in the NBA) while going 45.1% from the floor. The Heat are shooting 33.8% on shots from downtown (263 of 778) and 85.1% from the free throw line. As a unit, Miami is snagging 40.8 boards per game and has tallied 530 assists for the season, which is 15th in basketball in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 14.1 times per game and as a squad they are committing 19.1 personal fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Heat are able to force 16.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 21.2 personal fouls. They rank 25th in basketball in allowing assists with 575 conceded for the season. The Heat are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 47.3% (896 of 1,893) and they relinquish 43.5 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are giving up 35.6% on 3-pointers and they are 8th in basketball in points per game allowed (110.0).

For their last game, the Celtics got the victory with a final of 134-121 when they faced the Heat. With respect to team rebounding, Boston allowed Miami to pull down 32 overall (9 on the offensive glass). They finished the game shooting 45.0% from downtown by shooting 18 of 40 and ended up going 9 of 9 at the free throw line (100.0%). The Celtics permitted the Heat to make 47 of 90 attempts from the field which left them shooting 52.2% for this game. Overall, the Celtics went 46 out of 83 from the floor which had them shooting 55.4%. With respect to shooting from downtown, Boston converted 22 out of 45 attempts (48.9%). They were able to knock down 20 of the free throw tries for a rate of 87.0%. The Heat were called for 21 personal fouls in this game which took the Celtics to the charity stripe for 23 tries. They also turned the ball over 17 times, while getting 7 steals in the game. The Celtics were able to pull down 30 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards totaling 41 in this matchup.

Jayson Tatum pitched in for the Celtics for the contest. He made 15 of 25 for the matchup for a rate of 60.0%, and had 11 rebounds. Tatum racked up 49 points in his 39 minutes on the court and earned 3 dimes for the contest.

Boston has a mark of 18-4 on the campaign. The Celtics have committed 20.6 personal fouls per game and they connect on 85.3% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 27.5 times per game (6th in the NBA) and they turn it over 13.5 times per game. Boston has accounted for 2,681 pts this season (121.9 per contest) and they grab 41.6 rebounds per contest. As an offensive unit, the Celtics are connecting on 49.8% from the field, which ranks them 1st in the NBA.

The Boston defense gives up 35.6% on shots from distance (253 of 710) and opponents are making 79.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have surrendered 22.5 assists and 42.9 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 3rd and 13th in the league. The Celtics defensively are ranked 15th in the NBA in points given up per game with 113.3. They are able to force 12.9 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.1% from the field (17th in the league).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Boston

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