Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 4/21/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics

Date: Sunday, April 21, 2024

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: ABC

Odds/Point Spread: Miami (+13)

TD Garden is the site where the Boston Celtics (64-18) will attempt to beat the Miami Heat (46-36) on Sunday in Game 1 of their series. Boston opens this matchup as 13-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 209.

The Heat played the Bulls and took home the win by a score of 112-91 in their last game. Miami walked away from the contest having earned a 46.3% field goal percentage (38 of 82) and knocked down 14 out of their 33 shots from beyond the arc. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Heat converted 22 of 24 attempts for a percentage of 91.7%. Pertaining to pulling down boards, they earned 47 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 26 assists for this game as well as forcing 12 turnovers and getting 6 steals. When it comes to defense, Miami allowed the other team to shoot 38.0% from the floor on 35 out of 92 shooting. Chicago dished out 27 dimes and had 12 steals for this game. On top of that, Chicago pulled down 38 rebounds (7 offensive, 31 defensive) and got 6 rejections. Chicago finished the game shooting 80.0% from the charity stripe by converting 8 of their 10 attempts. They converted 13 out of their 43 shots from distance. Concerning personal fouls, the Heat walked away with 11 and the Bulls had 19 personal fouls.

Tyler Herro is someone who played a role in the matchup. Herro went 47.1% from the floor and dished out 9 assists. He saw the court for 33 mins played and grabbed 10 boards. He left the arena with 24 points on 8 out of 17 shooting.

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Miami comes into this game with a mark of 46-36 this year. They are losing possession via turnover 12.7 times per contest and as a group they are committing 17.3 personal fouls every game. As a team, Miami is grabbing 42.3 rebounds per game and has accounted for 2,116 dimes on the campaign, which is 18th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Heat are connecting on 37.0% on shots from distance (1,022 of 2,765) and 81.8% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 110.1 points per game (26th in the league) while going 46.5% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Heat are forcing 13.7 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.9 personal fouls. They rank 14th in the NBA in giving up assists with 2,173 conceded this season. The Heat defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 46.7% (3,297 of 7,056) and they relinquish 42.8 rebounds per game as a team. They surrender 35.3% on 3-pointers and they are 3rd in the NBA in opponents points per game (108.4).

When they last stepped on the court, the Celtics got the victory with a final of 132-122 against the Wizards. The Celtics earned 38 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 48 in this matchup. They also coughed up the ball 14 times, while recording 10 steals in this game. The Wizards had 16 fouls in this game which got the Celtics to the free throw line for a total of 21 attempts. They were able to convert 14 of them for a rate of 66.7%. In terms of shots from distance, Boston knocked down 16 of 32 tries (50.0%). When all was said and done, the Celtics went 51 for 89 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 57.3%. The Celtics permitted the Wizards to make 49 of 103 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 47.6% for this contest. They went 36.8% from three-point range by hitting 14 out of 38 and ended up shooting 10 out of 10 from the charity stripe (100.0%). In regard to rebounds, Boston allowed Washington to collect 36 in total (8 offensive).

Payton Pritchard was important for the Celtics in this game. Pritchard racked up 38 points in his 44 minutes on the hardwood and had 12 assists in the matchup. He knocked down 15 of 21 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 71.4%, and tallied 9 rebounds.

Boston has a win-loss mark of 64-18 so far this season. The Celtics are committing 16.2 fouls every game and they connect on 80.7% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 26.9 times per contest (14th in basketball) and they turn it over 11.9 times per game. Boston has earned 9,887 pts this year (120.6 per contest) and they snag 46.3 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Celtics are hitting on 48.7% from the floor, which ranks 8th in basketball.

The Celtics are ranked 5th in basketball in PPG allowed with 109.2. They are forcing 12.0 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.3% from the field (2nd in the NBA). The Boston defense gives up 35.2% on shots from 3-point land (1,059 of 3,008) and opponents are connecting on 76.8% of their foul shots. They have conceded 24.9 dimes and 43.3 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 5th and 14th in the league.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Miami (+13)

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