Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Prediction, 5/21/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat

Date: Sunday, May 21, 2023

Location: Kaseya Center in Miami, FL

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Boston (-2)

The Miami Heat will go up against the Boston Celtics at Kaseya Center on Sunday in Game 3 of their series. Miami leads 2-0. Boston opens this contest as 2-point favorites. The total is set at 211.5.

The Celtics went home with a loss by a final score of 111-105 in Game 2. With respect to fouls, the Celtics ended up finishing with 20 while the Heat racked up 17 fouls. They also made 9 out of their 26 attempts from distance. Miami finished shooting 94.7% when shooting free throws by converting 18 of their 19 shots. In addition, Miami snagged 45 rebounds (11 offensive, 34 defensive) and added 9 blocked shots. Miami recorded 23 assists and had 9 steals in the game. When talking about defense, Boston allowed 45.7% from the field on 42 out of 92 shooting. They also distributed 22 assists for the contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and having 2 steals. Pertaining to rebounding, they earned 35 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Celtics converted 21 of 24 tries for a percentage of 87.5%. Boston ended the game with a 46.8% field goal percentage (37 out of 79) and knocked down 10 of their 35 shots from downtown.

Jayson Tatum is one player who played a role in the matchup. Tatum ended up going 50.0% from the field and also dished out 8 assists. He played 42 minutes and grabbed 13 rebounds. He finished with 34 points on 10 of 20 shooting.

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Boston will play this game with a win-loss record of 57-25 for the season. They are averaging 117.9 points per game (4th in the league) while hitting 47.5% from the floor. The Celtics are hitting 37.7% on shots from downtown (1,315 of 3,492) and 81.2% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Boston is snagging 45.3 rebounds per game and has earned 2,186 assists this season, which has them ranked 7th in the league in terms of passing. They cough up possession 13.4 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 18.8 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Celtics are forcing their opponents into 12.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.1 fouls. They are ranked 2nd in the NBA in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,895 relinquished for the campaign. The Celtics defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 46.3% (3,425 of 7,394) and they concede 44.0 rebounds per game as a team. They are giving up 34.5% on shots from distance and they rank 5th in basketball in opponents PPG (111.4).

In regard to rebounding in Game 2, Miami allowed Boston to pull down 35 in all (6 on the offensive glass). They finished the game shooting 28.6% from three-point range by shooting 10 out of 35 and ended up going 21 out of 24 from the charity stripe (87.5%). The Heat permitted the Celtics to knock down 37 of their 79 tries from the floor which had them at 46.8% for this game. When the final whistle blew, the Heat finished shooting 42 for 92 from the field which had them shooting 45.7%. With respect to three-point attempts, Miami knocked down 9 out of 26 attempts (34.6%). They were able to make 18 of those for a percentage of 94.7%. The Celtics were called for 20 personal fouls in the game which took the Heat to the free throw line for a total of 19 tries. They also turned the ball over 10 times, while recording 9 steals in this matchup. The Heat were able to pull down 34 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 45 in this matchup.

Jimmy Butler ended up being a factor for the Heat for the game. He converted 12 out of 25 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 48.0%, and had 8 rebounds. Butler had 27 points in his 41 minutes on the hardwood and had 6 dimes for this contest.

Miami has a win-loss record of 44-38 so far this season. The Heat are committing 18.5 personal fouls every game and they go 83.1% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 23.8 times per game (25th in the league) and they lose possession via turnover 13.5 times per contest. Miami has scored 8,977 points so far this year (109.5 per contest) and they average 40.6 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Heat are shooting 46.0% from the field, which ranks 26th in the NBA.

The Heat are ranked 2nd in the NBA in points allowed per game with 109.8. They are able to force 15.7 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.2% from the floor (22nd in the league). The Miami defense surrenders 36.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (1,077 of 2,933) and their opponents are connecting on 78.1% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 25.6 assists and 41.8 total boards per game, ranking them 14th and 6th in the NBA.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Boston (-2)

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