Can the Celtics extend their winning streak?

On Wednesday night, Boston will host the Miami Heat. The Celtics are the clear favourites in this duel and are looking for their fifth win in a row. Although Miami is also on three wins in a row, the chances of a victory seem to be quite low. With Jimmy Butler, their best player will be missing and this gap can hardly be closed. Therefore, between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, the betting odds are clearly on a home win.

Miami played their last game on 27 November and should be at 100% physically for that reason. After the win in Atlanta, it was back to Miami and the preparation for the upcoming game began. Boston, on the other hand, has only one day’s break, but should not have used up their energy reserves thanks to a blowout. Despite the longer recovery period of the guests, our prediction goes in the direction of the host between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.

On the side of the hosts, Jaylen Brown is questionable and therefore the Celtics’ offense could also be weakened. We didn’t see any of that against Charlotte, but Miami’s defence is another matter. For this reason, we have our sights set on under 224.5 points between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. Since both teams will be missing important players on the offensive end and 215 points were scored in the first meeting with the best line-up, this bet has a lot of value.

Boston Celtics – Statistics & current form

The Boston Celtics currently lead the Eastern Conference with seventeen wins and four losses. Joe Mazzulla’s team reached the Finals last season, losing 2-4 to the Golden State Warriors. With their performances so far, the Celtics are also among the title favourites this season. Boston is currently on a streak of thirteen wins from the last fourteen games. The most recent win was a blowout win over the Hornets, so the stars could be spared in the final quarter.

Tatum x Brown

The Celtics are currently the best offensive team in the NBA. On average, Boston scores 121.3 points per game. This is partly due to the good throwing rate from the outside, as Coach Mazzulla’s team averages 16.7 threes per game with a 40.3% hitting rate – best value. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the main contributors to the outstanding offensive play. Together, the duo scored almost 57 points per game and dominated the league so far. However, Jaylen Brown is questionable for the game against Miami.

The big star on the team is Tatum, who at 24 is already playing his sixth season. In the 2017 draft, the small forward was drafted third overall in the first round. Since then, he has improved year after year and is currently one of the MVP candidates, and rightly so. At the moment, however, Luka Doncic seems to have the edge, but that can change again within a few days. His priority after the final defeat will clearly be the championship title

Solid defence

Boston’s defence is not one of the strongest in the NBA and that might have been the reason why it wasn’t enough for the title last season. The Celtics allow an average of 112.9 points and are only 14th in the league. Coach Mazzulla’s team definitely lacks a big centre, because even starter Robert Williams III with his 2.06 m has no chance against players like Embiid, Jokic and Co. The centre will be missing in the game against Miami and Horford is also questionable.

Starting Five of the Boston Celtics:
Jayson Tatum – Marcus Smart – Derrick White – Blake Griffin – Grant Williams

Miami Heat – Statistics & current form

Miami has been anything but in form so far, as coach Erik Spoelstra’s team is only tenth in the Eastern Conference with ten wins and eleven losses. Last year, Miami Heat was the best team in the East. Only in the semi-finals did the team narrowly lose 3-4 to the Boston Celtics. Recently, the team has won three games in a row, so they could bounce back with a win against Boston. On the second day of play, however, Miami lost 104-111 to the Celtics.

Question Mark Offense

The visitors have problems especially on the offensive end and that despite the fact that the core of the team has stayed together. With 108.4 points per game, Miami is one of the weakest offenses in the league. Only the LA Clippers and Orlando Magic score fewer points on average. In the three-pointer category alone, the team is weaker by almost five threes per game compared to Boston, and that alone accounts for 15 points. The game seems to have changed a lot compared to the previous season.

In the 2021-22 season, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler averaged 61.2 points per game. This season, the trio stands at 59.5 points, so they are far from out of form. It just seems like the pace has picked up and all teams are scoring more points than last year. Miami seems to have missed this a bit and just can’t manage to raise their own scoring average. This, of course, makes the defensive work all the more important to win games.

The stability

So far, Miami is actually managing to at least partially make up for the lack of points on the offensive end with good defensive play. Coach Spoelstra’s team is allowing an average of only 108.9 points, which ranks them eighth in the NBA. But whether the defence can hold its own against the league’s strongest offence is highly doubtful. Because if their own offence doesn’t get rolling, Miami will also lose the second duel against Boston this season.

Starting Five of Miami Heat:
Bam Adebayo – Caleb Martin – Max Strus – Tyler Herro – Kyle Lowry

Boston Celtics – Miami Heat Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

The head-to-head comparison between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat clearly goes to the hosts. The two teams have already met 159 times, with Boston winning 91 of those games. The game almost five weeks ago should not be decisive for the upcoming match, but the 111-104 victory underlined the host’s role as favourite. In the game between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, the odds for a home win are just 1.28.

Boston Celtics – Miami Heat Tip

Looking at the odds before the duel between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, the outcome of the game seems almost decided. The host is the clear favourite in this duel and for several reasons. On the one hand, the Celtics are in great shape and were able to celebrate a clear 140-105 victory against the Charlotte Hornets even without Jaylen Brown. In addition, the visitors will be without Jimmy Butler, the best player in the team. This will further weaken the weak offence.

KEY-FACTS – BOSTON CELTICS VS. MIAMI HEAT TIP

 – Boston won thirteen of last fourteen games.
 – Celtics won their last two must-win games against Miami.
 – Miami will have to do without Jimmy Butler and Duncan Robinson

We recommend betting on a -6.5 point handicap win for the hosts between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. Even in their best line-up, Miami lost to the Celtics by seven points and that in their own stadium. A similar result is therefore also very conceivable without Butler and in Boston. The visitors’ offence is simply too weak to pose a real threat to the finalists from the previous season. Miami could therefore be threatened with an even higher defeat.