What a brutal beginning to the restart of the NBA betting season for the Miami Heat! Erik Spoelstra’s troops return to the hardwood to play the Denver Nuggets. That game’s followed up with a tilt against the defending champion Toronto Raptors. Then it’s this skirmish on Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics. Immediately after, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are up. Again, brutal! However, the Heat couldn’t ask for a better scenario than the one they currently find themselves in as owners of the No. 4 seed. A 4/5 matchup with the injury riddled Indiana Pacers would come as a welcome sight. In order for that to occur, it must hold onto their positioning and hope the Pacers find a way to prevent the Philadelphia 76ers from leapfrogging them in the standings. They’ll likely hit the betting board at online sportsbooks as short dogs for this tilt.
This game will take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, FL. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 4, 2020, and the game will be broadcast live on TNT. You can bet on NBA Odds at BookMaker.eu the remainder of the season.
Futures Odds Analysis
Both the Celtics and Heat offer up some attractive rates of return on the NBA futures odds heading into the reboot season. Situated in third place of the Eastern Conference, the Celtics currently offer up a +1202 return on investment should it go on to win a title for the 18th time in franchise history. Only the Milwaukee Bucks have shorter odds to win in conference. The Heat have been a popular side to back on the futures odds for the title with them currently offering up a +4000 return on investment. Though currently the No. 4 seed, four teams currently have shorter odds than the Heat’s +1250 to win the conference Milwaukee, Boston, Philadelphia and Toronto.
Head-To-Head Results
Miami has had all kinds of trouble dealing with the Celtics dating back to last season. They only managed one win in the four played skirmishes last season, and followed it up by getting swept in the two games played this year. In all, Boston owns a five-game win streak in the recent rivalry and will enter this tilt winners of three straight against the closing NBA odds. These teams first met back on December 4 when the three-headed monster of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker combined for 78 points to lead Boston to the dominant 112-93 win and cover as 5.5 point favorites. The second go round was a bit more competitive at Miami, but the end result was just the same – a win and cover for the Celtics. These teams have played to three straight low scorers with an average of 209.7 points scored.
Player to Watch
Jimmy Butler is the lifeblood of this franchise. The former All-Star is surrounded by a very young team which has forced him to take on the biggest leadership role of his career. So far he’s risen to the challenge by averaging just over 20 points per game to go along with an average of 6.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. He combined for 57 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in the two regular season meetings with the Celtics, and his scoring prowess will be a necessity in this matchup as well as the playoffs if Miami plans on making a run out of the East. That’s highly unlikely as young the roster that surrounds him is. Still, anything can happen in what amounts to a tournament played on a neutral court even though it takes place in sunny Orlando.
Injury Report
The Heat has a single player on their injury report at this point in time, but KZ Okpala and his 1.4 points per game likely won’t be missed. Same goes for the Celtics with Tremont Waters still not allowed to report to the court after suffering a concussion in a scrimmage last Saturday. It looks to be all systems go for both squads with all the pertinent pieces healthy and ready to go.
NBA Odds Pick
I really like the Celtics positioning in the Eastern Conference right now, and got that sneaking suspicion that they ultimately match up with the Victor Oladipo-less Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs; provided Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers fail to jump them in the standings. Regardless, the Heat is an extremely young squad with very little playoff experience save for Jimmy Butler. They’ll go as far as he can take them, but it won’t be enough to cash any futures tickets. Boston has the better balanced roster that’s already had its way with Miami to date. Why not one more time?
Prediction: Celtics 108, Heat 99
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