The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics resume their first-round series in the 2024 NBA Playoffs Wednesday with Game 2. Miami will be looking to steal one on the road to even the series while Boston hopes to put on another dominant display and grab the 2-0 lead. The Celtics won the series opener 114-94, using big runs in the second and third quarter to open up a huge lead before the Heat chipped away a bit late. Six Celtics players reached double figures scoring in that game, headlined by Jayson Tatum’s triple-double.
Miami is still without Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson. Kevin Love, Haywood Highsmtih and Duncan Robinson are in. Tatum took a nasty fall late in Game 1 but he’s not on the injury report. Luke Kornet remains out for Boston.
The Celtics are 14.5-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook with the total set at 203.5. Boston is -1350 on the moneyline while Miami is +800.
Heat vs. Celtics, 7 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Celtics -14.5
The Heat went 19-18 ATS after a loss, but they remain significantly shorthanded in this matchup. The Celtics were 32-28-4 ATS after a win, and have a matchup edge at nearly every position on the floor. There was some slippage from Boston late in the Game 1 but the Celtics did stabilize things to eventually win by 20 points. Even though the Heat have a decent record as underdogs at 18-19 ATS, they are 11-26 straight up in the category.
Boston is unlikely to hit 22 three-pointers again in Game 2 but I still think the Celtics coast to an easy victory at home Wednesday night.
Over/Under: Over 203.5
Even if the Celtics don’t go nuts from behind the arc, I do think they’ll be extremely efficient offensively. Boston is 22-20 to the over as the home team this season, and this total is just too low given the firepower this team has. I expect the Heat to shoot slightly better from deep but the one risk here will be tempo. Miami’s best shot at winning is slow this game down, limit possessions and grind out a win. I still think this number is too low to back the under, so I’ll take the over tonight.
