Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 12/2/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics

Date: Monday, December 2, 2024

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics (15-3) are welcoming the Miami Heat (8-8) at TD Garden on Monday.

The Heat took the court against the Hornets and walked away with a win by a score of 98-94 in their last game. Miami walked away from the game having earned a 45.2% field goal percentage (33 out of 73) and buried 14 of their 37 three-point shots. At the free throw line, the Heat buried 18 of 22 attempts for a rate of 81.8%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 44 with 4 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 21 dimes for this contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and having 6 steals. With respect to defense, Miami allowed the other team to shoot 37.8% from the floor on 37 of 98 shooting. Charlotte distributed 22 dimes and had 10 steals for this game. On top of that, Charlotte collected 43 rebounds (16 offensive, 27 defensive) and had 5 blocks. Charlotte finished the contest at 37.5% from the charity stripe by knocking down 3 of 8 attempts. They also buried 17 out of their 51 tries from distance. When it comes to fouls, the Heat ended up with 9 and the Hornets racked up 19 fouls.

Tyler Herro is one player who came through in the game. He totaled 27 points on 11 out of 22 shooting. He was on the court for 38 minutes played and grabbed 8 rebounds. Herro shot 50.0% from the field and distributed 5 assists.

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Miami enters this matchup with a mark of 8-8 so far this season. They are turning it over 12.9 times per game and as a group they are committing 16.4 fouls per contest. As a unit, Miami is collecting 43.5 boards per contest and is sitting with 402 dimes on the year, which is 29th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Heat are hitting 37.8% on shots from downtown (233 of 617) and 76.9% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 110.4 pts per game (20th in the NBA) while shooting 44.4% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Heat are able to force 15.4 turnovers per game while drawing 19.1 personal fouls. They relinquish 36.0% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 5th in the league in opponents points per game (109.3). The Heat are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.7% (647 of 1,415) and they surrender 46.2 boards per contest as a squad. They currently rank 1st in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 415 surrendered on the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Celtics walked away with a victory by a final of 126-94 when they played the Clippers. With respect to how they rebounded, Boston permitted Los Angeles to get 44 in total (10 on the offensive glass). They wrapped up this game 26.9% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 7 out of 26 and finished the contest at 9 out of 13 from the free throw line (69.2%). The Celtics allowed the Clippers to knock down 39 of their 90 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.3% for this game. When the final whistle blew, the Celtics finished the game shooting 45 for 88 from the field which gave them a percentage of 51.1%. In the matter of shooting from distance, Boston knocked down 22 out of 51 attempts (43.1%). They were able to convert 14 of them for a rate of 70.0%. The Clippers were called for 12 personal fouls for this contest which took the Celtics to the charity stripe for a total of 20 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while earning 10 steals for the contest. The Celtics pulled down 39 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 47 for this game.

Payton Pritchard ended up being a factor for the Celtics in this contest. He knocked down 7 of 13 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 53.8%, and added 2 rebounds. Pritchard racked up 20 points in his 26 minutes of playing time and had 4 assists for this game.

Boston has a record of 15-3 for the campaign. The Celtics have committed 16.8 fouls per game and they hit 80.9% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 26.0 times per contest (14th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 11.7 times per contest. Boston has 2,164 points on the campaign (120.2 per contest) and they snag 42.8 boards per contest. As an offense, the Celtics are hitting on 46.1% from the floor, which ranks 16th in the league.

The Celtics on the defensive side of the court are 6th in the NBA in points given up per game with 109.6. They are able to force 13.9 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 46.5% from the floor (16th in basketball). The Boston defense allows 34.0% on shots from beyond the arc (211 of 621) and their opponents are making 76.1% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 24.5 dimes and 43.8 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 5th and 16th in the NBA.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Boston

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