You battle an entire 82-game regular season schedule to earn homecourt advantage for this very reason. The Eastern Conference final between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat has been reduced to a best-of-three with the teams splitting the first four games while getting a win on the other’s home floor.
Playing with a sense of urgency and avoiding a 3-1 series deficit, the Celtics earned their second win by at least 20 points with Monday’s 102-82 victory. The series is close but the games haven’t been. There’s been a lead of at least 20 points in every game and none of them have been close down the stretch.
Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Date & Time
Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat takes place on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 and will air live on ESPN with tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET from FTX Arena in Miami. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every game on the NBA playoff schedule.
Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Odds (Game 5)
Boston Celtics -1.5
Miami Heat +1.5
Over / Under 203.5
Playoff Analysis
After being the favorite in the first two games of the series the Heat find themselves catching 1.5-points on the opening NBA betting line for Game 5. That could be because the Celtics looked impressive winning two of the previous three. Boston evened the series with a 127-102 win in Miami in Game 2 and won by 20 on Monday night.
The Celtics have outscored Miami by 39 points in the last three games but couldn’t do much right in their 109-103 Game 3 setback. The Celtics have yet to lose consecutive games this postseason improving to 10-5 SU and 9-5-1 ATS. They’ve also been strong on the road picking up crucial wins when needed. The biggest was in Game 6 at Milwaukee, 108-95, when facing elimination. Overall they are 5-2 SU and 5-1-1 ATS on the road during the playoffs.
Boston played with a sense of urgency on Monday now it’s time for the Heat to do the same. It was a baffling turn of events for Miami, who thought they would be without Jimmy Butler for Game 4. But Jimmy Buckets was in the lineup as was Kyle Lowry and Max Strus, two others nursing nagging injuries. They should have taken the day off.
The Heat missed their first 14 shots and didn’t score their first field goal until three and a half minutes remained in the first quarter. They trailed 29-11 after one and never recovered. We saw Miami bounce back from a big loss in Game 2 to win on the road and they did what they needed to do, get a split at the Garden to reclaim homecourt advantage. The Heat won their first seven home playoff games going 6-1 ATS before getting ambushed in Game 2.
Boston Celtics
Boston has a strong defensive club, but what happened in Game 4 was ridiculous. Without DPOY Marcus Smart, the Celtics helped and watched Miami miss 15 of its first 16 shots. Meanwhile Jayson Tatum and everyone else did their thing helping the Celtics to a 26-4 lead and the game was never close. Tatum led five players in double figures with 31 points in a strong effort after their collapse in Game 3.
“Just got to muster that same energy when we come off a win as well as a loss. This is a three-game series now. Can’t always just flip the mindset when we come off a loss and get a little desperate,” Ime Udoka said. In other words, he needs his club to be more consistent on both ends of the floor.
Miami Heat
Thankfully the Heat can flush their Game 4 loss because that’s exactly where it belongs. If there were any positives it’s that the Heat finished shooting 33 percent despite their dismal start. They will need much better play from their starters, who combined for 18 points on 7 of 36 shooting. Bam Adebayo paced the group with nine points. Butler finished with six points on 3 of 14 shooting while Strus and P.J. Tucker were scoreless.
Don’t write Miami off just yet. They bounced back from a terrible loss in Game 2 to win in Boston and things are different from game to game. The defensive effort was solid, though the later stages of Game 4 featured mostly bench players. Still, Miami held Boston to 40 percent and 8 of 34 from behind the arc. Those numbers typically lead to a closer game and Miami’s inability to score the basketball allowed the teams to cash the UNDER for the first time in the series.
Celtics vs Heat Predictions
How do you handicap this game? It’s been a wild series so far and things are just intensifying. The Heat did what they had to getting a split in Boston and the Celtics still need a road win to claim the series. Boston is playing good basketball despite that Game 3 clunker and I expect they’ll be more consistent leading to the road victory they need.
Game 5 Prediction: Boston Celtics -1.5 and OVER 203.5
