The Miami Heat will try to get back into the win column on Tuesday night as they take on the Boston Celtics as home favorites at the sportsbooks in Game 5 of the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals.
And they may get center Chris Bosh back, which will influence the Heat Celtics point spread. He was upgraded to day-to-day yesterday after Miami called his injury 'indefinite' for ythe past three weeks.
The Celtics won Game 4 of the series in Boston as underdogs on Sunday night to tie up the best-of-seven set at two wins apiece heading into Game 5. Rajon Rondo had 15 points and 15 assists.
Miami battles the Celtics, currently with a 39-27 mark (34-31-1 ATS). The OVER/UNDER records, important for totals bettors, are 25-39-2 for the Heat and 29-37 for the Celtics.
View Boston vs Miami Odds and Stats.
Betting Line:
Bettors looking to side with the Heat in this one will find them as 8-point favorites at Sportsbook, while the total was sitting at 180 at shops such as Sportsbook.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
The power rankings show a disparity between these teams, with the Heat rated this week at No. 5 and the Celtics sitting at No. 17. It may or may not play a role in Odds Shark score prediction models that turned out a 99-96 result in favor of the Heat today.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Miami's No. 7-ranked offense (98.5 PPG) against a Celtics defense that ranks No. 2 at 89.3 PPG. The Heat have averaged 46.9% from the field per game, more than the Celtics have managed so far this season (46% on average).
Defensively, the Celtics feature the league's No. 6-rated defense on the road, allowing 94.3 points per game. Miami, meanwhile, comes in at No. 9 in the league in scoring at home.
The Heat were a 93-91 loser in their most recent outing on the road against the Celtics. They failed to cover the 2-point spread as favorites, while the total score (184) made winners of OVER bettors. The Heat wasted a 29-point performance from LeBron James as Boston ran past them 93-91 on Sunday at TD Garden.
Boston Celtics Trends:
When playing on Tuesday are 8-2
Before playing Miami are 5-5
After playing Miami are 5-5
After a win are 4-6
Miami Heat Trends:
When playing on Tuesday are 7-3
Before playing Boston are 8-2
After playing Boston are 5-5
After a loss are 6-4
A few Celtics at Heat trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Boston's last 7 games when playing on the road against Miami
Boston is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Miami
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Boston's last 10 games when playing Miami
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Boston's last 9 games
Miami is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
Miami is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Miami's last 7 games when playing at home against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Miami's last 7 games
Next up:
Boston home to Miami, Thursday, June 7
Miami at Boston, Thursday, June 7