Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat 5/27/2023 Expert Picks, Tips and Odds
East Finals – Game 6, MIA leads series 3-2
Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat will take place in South Beach on Saturday night. The Celtics hope to become the first team in NBA history to recover from a 3-0 series deficit by finishing second in offensive efficiency throughout the postseason. On Thursday, Boston jumped out to an early 15-point lead and won at home by a final score of 110-97.
In Game 5, the Heat were able to snag 36 boards in total, including 26 defensive and 10 offensive. Additionally, they committed 6 steals while turning the ball over 16 times. The Heat was forced to try 10 free throws since the Celtics were given nine fouls during this contest. Eight free shots were made, yielding an 80.0% success rate. Miami made nine of their 23 long-range shots, or 39.1% of all attempts, to hit the target. The Heat ended this game with a field goal percentage of 51.3% after making 40 of their last 78 tries. The Heat allowed the Celtics to make 40 of their 79 field goal attempts, for a shooting efficiency of 50.6% overall. They converted 14 of 19 free throw attempts for a final percentage of 73.7% and hit 16 of 39 three-point attempts for a final three-point percentage of 41.0%. Miami gave Boston access to 37 rebounds, 12 of which were offensive.
G Boston Derrick White ended with 24 points, leading all scorers, and shot 6-for-8 from beyond the arc. Marcus Smart led the team with 23 points and a plus-20 rating. Two All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each provided 21 points on a combined 17 for 34 from the field.
- Boston is 2-5 ATS in their past seven meetings with the Heat.
- In their last seven games against Miami, the Boston Celtics have a 2-5 SU record.
- The over occurred in 11 of Boston’s previous 14 away games.
Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat 5/27/2023 Expert Picks, Tips and Odds
The Miami Heat aim to make it to the NBA Finals for the seventh time since 2005 and are now fourth in offensive efficiency throughout the postseason. Without starting G Gabe Vincent (ankle) in Game Five, Miami trailed 61-44 at the break. The eighth-seeded Heat turned the ball over 16 times while only shooting 51% from the field.
Miami now has a 44-38 win-loss record for the year. On average, the Heat commits 18.5 fouls per game and shoots 83.1% from the charity stripe. They are 25th in the league regarding assists per game (23.8), but they also turn the ball over 13.5 times per game. In addition to grabbing 40.6 rebounds per game, Miami has scored 8,977 points this season (109.5 points per game). The Heat rank 26th in the NBA with a 46.0% field goal percentage as a team.
The Miami defense enables opponents to hit 1,077 out of 2,933 3-point shots and 78.1% of their free throw tries. Regarding turnovers allowed, they are rated 14th and sixth in the NBA (25.6 assists and 41.8 boards per game). With 109.8, the Heat is second in the NBA regarding points allowed per game on defense. They allow teams to shoot 48.2% from the field, 22nd in basketball, and force 15.7 turnovers per game.
Duncan Robinson led the five Miami players in double digits in scoring in 28 minutes off the bench with 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting. Bam Adebayo, a center all-star, scored 16 points on 8 of 15 field goal tries and grabbed 8 rebounds. Jimmy Butler scored 14 points (5-10 FG) but finished the game with a game-worst minus-24 rating.
- The Miami Heat are 10-4 SU in their past 14 games.
- Miami is 7-1 SU in their previous eight home games.
- The total stayed below in five of Miami’s last six home games against Boston.
Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics. The NBA has chosen the Boston Celtics for this matchup. Boston point guard Malcolm Brogdon is questionable for this game after playing only eight minutes the last time due to a forearm ailment. The Heat should put out a far more dedicated defensive effort against the Celtics given their last two victories, which included some scorching long-range shooting. It will be difficult for the Heat to stop Boston at this time in the game because of Miami’s injuries. Final score prediction: Boston will triumph 109-104.
Basketball: FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, 8:30 p.m. ET
Date: Saturday, May 27, 2023
TV: TNT
NBA Boston Celtics -3 are the predictions.
NBA Total: 210