Desperation is motivation, and the Boston Celtics were a desperate group for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals with the Miami Heat. After two stunning losses, the Celtics had a late night meeting of the minds over pizza and soda to try and crack the Heat’s code. They did and the series got much more entertaining. Boston handed the Heat just their second loss and scored the most points in a regulation game against them in these playoffs, 117-106. Now Boston can square the series with a win in Game 4 on Wednesday night.
Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals will air live on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, September 23, 2020, from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every NBA playoff game.
NBA Odds at BookMaker.eu
Boston Celtics -3
Miami Heat +3
Over/Under 213.5
Odds Analysis
It was difficult to predict the Heat’s playoff surge watching them finish the seeding games with a 1-4 SU and ATS record in their last five. Sure there were things to consider. Miami was locked into its position and Erik Spoelstra sat some of his guys. But sweeping Indiana and taking down top-seed Milwaukee in five games was quite shocking. Taking the first two games of the series extended Miami’s win streak over Boston to three while covering the line each time. In fact, the Heat were getting points in all those games and they’ll be dogs once again with the line for Game 4 set at Boston -3 with a total of 213.5. Those backing Miami at the betting window are happy since the Heat are 10-2 SU and ATS this postseason.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics needed a response after dropping the first two games of the series. The frustration of losing big second half leads in the first two games boiled over in the locker room after their Game 2 setback. There were a lot of folks eager to see the response. They again jumped out to a big lead and this time they held on never trailing in the 117-106 triumph. Unlike Games 1 and 2 when the Celtics went into the NBA’s version of the prevent defense, they stayed aggressive in Game 3. “Our whole team was aggressive. Our whole team played with the right mentality,” Brad Stevens said.
The aggressive approach produced four 20-point scorers in Game 3 led by 26 points from Jaylen Brown. Jayson Tatum had 25, Kemba Walker 21 and Marcus Smart chipped in with 20. The return of Gordon Hayward also helped. With Gordo back in the mix Stevens shortened his bench. Nine players saw action with three of them contributing less than 10 minutes.
Playing for the first time since Game 1 of the opening series against Philadelphia Hayward looked rusty. He had six points on 2 of 7 shooting with five rebounds, four assists and three steals in 31 minutes. More importantly he brought some stability to the rotation. “We’re so much better when he’s out there and so much more dynamic, so much more versatile when he’s out there,” Tatum said of Hayward.
Miami Heat
The Heat are the Denver Nuggets of the East. Or are the Nuggets the Miami Heat of the West? Not sure, but either way both teams have been able to come back from big second half deficits in multiple games to make the playoffs interesting. Boston made adjustments to creep back into the series, now it’s time for the Heat to do their thing. They tried the same strategy in Game 3 that was so successful in the first two matchups; falling behind by double digits only to come back. Miami won the first two games, but the play was unsuccessful in Game 3.
Maybe it was because they trailed by more points in Game 3. The Heat rallied from down 14 in the fourth quarter in Game 1 and they were trailing by 15 in the third of Game 2. The hole reached 20 in Game 3, something Miami couldn’t overcome. The easiest way to remedy the situation is to not get behind by so many points. “We’ve got to start the game how we start the fourth,” Bam Adebayo said.
Though they hold a lead in the series the Heat have been outplayed a majority of the time. What they need to do, though, is fix the problem of falling behind by so many points. First of all, the odds of coming back time and again increase. And secondly it takes a lot of energy to mount those comebacks.
Celtics vs. Heat Prediction
I had Boston winning the series in six games and that can still happen. I’ve also become a believer in the Heat, so I guess I’m torn between the two. On paper the Celtics have the more talented team, and with Hayward back Stevens can use his normal rotations. We saw how deadly the Celtics are when the roster is healthy and now that the first one is out of the way I’ll take the Celtics minus the points.
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