The Miami Heat will take on the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Friday night. The series will come to an end if the Heat win this one, as they lead the series 3-1.
Heat Close to Finals
The Miami Heat are close to a return to the NBA Finals. Rookie Tyler Herro led the way in Game 4, scoring 37 points off the bench. He has been big for this team in the playoffs.
“He has a great competitive humility about him,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He has a confidence. He has a fearlessness that is uncommon. But he’s humble enough to work, to be coachable, to take the mentorship from the veteran players that we have on our team, and he just continues to gain more confidence as we go.”
The last time the Heat were in the Finals was with LeBron James in 2014. Now, they will get the opportunity to play against him if the Lakers also advance.
Miami has never lost a series which it led 3-1, but this is a tough Boston team. Every game of this series has been down to the wire, and Jimmy Butler has been one of the clutch players for the Heat.
The big reason for much of the Heat’s success is their defense. They are forcing turnovers and getting up more shots than the Celtics.
Celtics Bouncing Back
The Celtics have been frustrated this series. They have actually been leading for large portions of games but have been unable to close.
“(We) definitely have to stick together,” Jaylen Brown insisted. “Fight to the end. I think that’s the best thing that we can do to represent this organization, represent ourselves, represent our families, is stay together, and play hard. And I think everybody will be a part of that result.”
One positive for the Celtics has been the return of Gordon Hayward, who missed the majority of the playoffs due to an injury.
In Game 5, Jayson Tatum has to get out to a better start. Although he had a great second half in Game 4, scoring 28 points, he failed to score in the first half.
Prediction
The Celtics have been the favorites in every game this series, but the Heat have shown that to be wrong. The spread in this game favors the Celtics -3.5, with an over/under of 213 points.
The Celtics moneyline is -165, while and the Heat moneyline is +145.
I expect another big game from Herro and Butler. The Heat have all of the momentum, and I don’t see a 3-1 comeback from the Celtics.
The Celtics are in a desperate spot, but a Denver Nuggets-type comeback is tough to accomplish. I don’t believe anyone on Boston can go off like Jamal Murray did for the Nuggets in coming from behind against Utah and the LA Clippers in these playoffs.
The Miami Heat will win Game 5 and move on to the NBA Finals. I am taking their moneyline at +145 and the over for the game.
Good luck!