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The Eastern Conference Finals bracket is set with the Boston Celtics set to face the Miami Heat for the second consecutive year at the same stage. The Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 112-88 in Game 7 of their second-round series on Sunday to advance.
The Celtics will boast homecourt advantage this year as opposed to last year. The Heat were the No. 1 seed back then. They entered the postseason as the eighth seed and have made a fairytale run, having beaten the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks in round one in five games and the No. 5 seeded New York Knicks in round two in six games.
Due to that, this series is expected to be closer than most would think regardless of it being a No. 2 vs. No. 8 seed matchup.
Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics prediction
The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat have relied on their depth to reach this point. The Celtics enter this series on the back of a six-game series win over the Atlanta Hawks and seven-game series win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
They were the better team in the regular season, leading the standings for most of the year before the Milwaukee Bucks overtook them and sealed their spot as the No. 1 seed. The Celtics finished second for the second consecutive year. They boasted a better record at 57-25 than last season (51-31).
Jayson Tatum played at an MVP-caliber level, averaging 30.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists, while Jaylen Brown returned to his All-Star caliber production, tallying 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists. The two superstars have continued their stellar run in the playoffs.
The Celtics are also deeper than the Miami Heat, who have received contributions from across the board. However, they have relied more on Jimmy Butler than ever. He has averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game, shooting on a 53/36/80 clip.
Boston appears to be a healthier team than the Milwaukee Bucks, who played without Giannis Antetokounmpo in two of their five games against the Heat. Giannis played only 11 minutes in Game 1. Meanwhile, the Celtics are much better experience-wise and on paper than the Heat's second-round opponents, the New York Knicks.
With two alphas on the roster and reliable role players like Al Horford, Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White, the Celtics will likely come out on top against the resurgent Heat. Miami will need significant contributions consistently from players not named Jimmy Butler to have a shot at continuing their shocking run, especially with their third-best scorer, Tyler Herro, still sidelined.
Considering Boston's complacency on certain occasions thus far, the Heat could stretch this series to seven games but will likely lose the decisive contest.
Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics regular season head-to-head
The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat have surprisingly split their season series 2-2 this year. The Heat were nowhere close to the team they were a year ago, so taking avoiding a regular season series sweep against the Celtics was commendable.
The Celtics won the first game 111-104 and the second game 134-121 before the Heat won the third and fourth contests by a 120-116 OT and 98-95 victory, respectively. Jimmy Butler played twice against the Celtics. In his absence, the Heat were 1-1.
However, they did have Tyler Herro in those games. He recorded 20+ points in three of those contests, and Miami will likely miss his services in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Bam Adebayo averaged 25.0 points on 57.1% shooting this season against the Celtics, while Jimmy Butler tallied 21.0 points on 55.3% shooting in two games against Boston.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown showed out for the Boston Celtics this season against the Heat. The former averaged 30.8 points and 10.5 rebounds, while Jaylen Brown tallied 30.3 points and 8.3 rebounds against Miami in the regular season.
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics odds
The Celtics enter the conference finals as the heavy favorites per the odds. As per BetMGM, the Celtics' odds are at -500 to win this series, while the Heat are at +375.
Series Spread: Celtics -2.5 (+115).
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
