Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 5/17/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics

Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Miami (+8)

The Miami Heat are traveling to TD Garden on Wednesday where they will go up against the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Miami opens this contest as 8-point underdogs from oddsmakers. The total is 210.

The Heat stepped onto the hardwood against the Knicks and notched a win by a score of 96-92 in their last game. Miami finished the game with a 40.2% field goal percentage (33 out of 82) and buried 7 of their 27 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Heat converted 23 of 25 attempts for a rate of 92.0%. With respect to pulling down rebounds, they earned 40 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 25 assists for the game in addition to creating 12 turnovers and earning 8 steals. In terms of the defense, Miami allowed their opponent to shoot 38.0% from the field on 27 of 71 shooting. New York doled out 13 assists and had 2 steals in this contest. On top of that, New York collected 41 rebounds (8 offensive, 33 defensive) and earned 2 blocks. New York finished 87.5% at the free throw line by knocking down 28 of 32 shots. They buried 10 of their 35 shots from 3-point land. In regard to personal fouls, the Heat ended up with 22 while the Knicks had 22 personal fouls.

Jimmy Butler is someone who was a contributor in this game. He ended up finishing with 19 points on 5 of 12 shooting. He played for 43 mins played and collected 7 boards. Butler went 41.7% from the field and totaled 9 assists.

Get all of our NBA Picks Tonight

Miami heads into this one with a mark of 44-38 this season. They are giving up possession 13.5 times per contest and as a squad are committing 18.5 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Miami is collecting 40.6 rebounds per contest and has totaled 1,955 assists this year, which is 25th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. The Heat are shooting 34.4% on shots beyond the perimeter (980 of 2,852) and 83.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 109.5 points per outing (30th in the league) while shooting 46.0% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Heat have forced 15.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.0 personal fouls. They rank 14th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 2,097 conceded so far this season. The Heat are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 48.2% (3,288 of 6,822) and they surrender 41.8 boards per game as a basketball team. They are giving up 36.7% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 2nd in the league in PPG allowed (109.8).

For their last game, the Celtics got the victory with a final of 112-88 when they played the 76ers. In reference to rebounding, Boston allowed Philadelphia to collect 37 in total (7 on the offensive glass). They went 21.6% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 8 of 37 and ended up going 18 out of 19 from the free throw line (94.7%). The Celtics allowed the 76ers to knock down 31 of their 83 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 37.3% in this matchup. When the game finished, the Celtics shot 41 out of 87 from the field which had them shooting 47.1%. When it comes to three-point attempts, Boston converted 15 of their 33 tries (45.5%). They were able to make 15 of them for a percentage of 83.3%. The 76ers were called for 14 personal fouls for the contest which took the Celtics to the charity stripe for 18 attempts. They also gave up possession 7 times, while recording 7 steals for this contest. The Celtics recorded 36 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 43 for this game.

Jayson Tatum ended up being a factor for the Celtics in the matchup. Tatum accumulated 51 points in his 42 mins of playing time and added 5 dimes in this game. He buried 17 out of 28 for this contest for a rate of 60.7%, and earned 13 rebounds.

Boston has a record of 57-25 so far this year. The Celtics commit 18.8 personal fouls every game and they go 81.2% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 26.7 times per game (7th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 13.4 times per game. Boston has accounted for 9,671 pts on the year (117.9 per game) and they average 45.3 boards per game. As an offense, the Celtics are shooting 47.5% from the field, which ranks them 14th in the NBA.

The Boston defense gives up 34.5% from downtown (954 of 2,763) and opponents are connecting on 76.9% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 23.1 assists and 44.0 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 2nd and 18th in basketball. The Celtics defensively are ranked 5th in the NBA in points given up per game with 111.4. They have forced 12.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.3% from the field (5th in the NBA).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Boston (-8)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here