Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat NBA Playoffs Game 1 Prediction & Betting Tips

Two familiar names will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals in the series between Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. The first game will be played in Miami since the Heat are the top seed. Will they start the series with a win at home or will the Celtics get an early break?

We have reached the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2022 NBA playoffs and we have a very interesting matchup upon our hands between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.

The Celtics enter this game after a grueling series against the reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks. And while Boston had to play seven games to get to the Conference Finals, they enter this game high on confidence after they demolished the Bucks in Game 7, which should trump their fatigue from being in such a long series.

Boston Celtics Stats:

Record (Regular Season + Playoffs): 59-34

ATS: 52-39-2

Over/Under: 44-47-2

Meanwhile, the Heat did have a few more days of rest and they never had to face elimination like the Celtics did in the last two games of their series. Miami played like a true top seed in these playoffs so far, but the Celtics will probably be their toughest test yet on their road back to the NBA Finals, which the Heat reached just a couple of seasons ago in the “NBA Bubble”.

Miami Heat Stats:

Record (Regular Season + Playoffs): 61-32

ATS: 53-39-1

Over/Under: 51-42-0

Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Game 1 Info

Date/Time: Tuesday, May 17, 2022, 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN (Where to Watch the Game Online)
Location: FTX Arena, Miami, FL

Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Game 1 Odds Analysis

Despite the fact that they are the top seed and playing the first game of the series at home, the Miami Heat is only a slight favorite against the Celtics, with the odds on the Heat on money line set at -125 and the odds on the Celtics set at +105. That is a bit surprising since we expected the Heat to be bigger favorites than the 1.5 spread set by the bookies, at least by a couple more points.

Meanwhile, we did expect the line for total points to be low, but not at 203.5 points, at least not for the first game in the series. A few more points on top of that would probably be more reasonable, but these are the two teams that played great defense in the playoffs, so we understand the logic behind it.

Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Game 1 Picks

Before we proceed without betting predictions for the Boston Celitcs vs Miami Heat series Game 1, you should also check our NBA daily betting picks and NBA playoffs parlay tips.

So, here are our picks and predictions for Tuesday’s NBA matchup between Boston Celtics and Miami Heat:

Boston Celtics on Money Line @ +105 (Odds via FanDuel)

Both the Celtics and the Heat enter this first game of Eastern Conference Finals high on confidence after they did well in the playoffs so far and we can see this being a very exciting series. The bookies seem to agree with us since the two teams are priced pretty closely for Game 1.

The Heat have the home-court advantage in this one and they were the top seed in the playoffs, but the Celtics came back from being down 3-2 against the reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks to win the series and they were amazing in Game 7. The Heat had more days to rest, but we would go with the Celtics in this one since they are in good rhythm right now.

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Under 203.5 Total Points @ -105 (Odds via BetMGM)

We decided to suggest betting on under total points even before we saw the line for Game 1 of the Celtics vs Heat series, but we did have to think about it a bit when we saw that the line is set as low as 203.5 total points.

Still, both of these teams have been playing great defense in the playoffs and most of their games have been going under total points regardless of the lines. Also, two of the three h2h duels between the Celtics and the Heat in the regular season have gone under as well, so we expect this to be another low-scoring game between the two great teams.

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Our Bonus Player Prop Pick: Bam Adebayo Under 15.5 Total Points @ -110 (Odds via Caesars)

The Heat center has scored 16 or more points in just four of the ten games he played in these playoffs, so we don’t see that happening in this game either. After all, we don’t expect a lot of points in the game overall, so we would be surprised to see Adebayo being among the top scorers in the game.

Furthermore, the Celtics have very good interior defense, with both Horford and Williams III being able to defend almost any center in the league one on one. All things considered, we suggest betting on under 15.5 total points on Bam Adebayo.

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