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It’s a rematch of the 2020 Eastern Conference finals – Miami and Boston. The two teams kick off their series on Tuesday night in Miami, the top seed in the East.
The Heat took care of Philadelphia in six games and got a little extra rest as a reward. Boston went the distance with Milwaukee beating the defending champion Bucks in seven games. Boston scored a 109- 81 victory in the deciding Game 7 on Sunday.
With a quick turnaround for the Celtics, they will look to avenge that 2020 finals series.
Keys for the Miami Heat
The health of guard Kyle Lowry is a factor, but the Heat played well without him in the series against the Sixers. The biggest key for Miami is Jimmy Butler.
With Butler on the floor, Miami’s offensive rating 120.1. Without him, it’s 104.4. It’s the same on defense. With Butler, the Heat’s defensive rating is 103.9 and without him it’s 108.1.
With Butler on the floor, the Heat’s net rating is +16.2. Butler had a 40-point game and two 30-point games against the Sixers. He’s averaging 21.4 points a game, but he hasn’t seen perimeter defenders like Boston.
The Celtics have the horses to switch from any position on Butler. That will be the key matchup in the series as Miami doesn’t have the offensive firepower that Boston has.
What Miami could use is some help from Tyler Herro. He’s been really inconsistent during the postseason. He’s hitting just 27.3 percent of his three-point attempts.
Herro averaged over 20 points a game during the regular season. He hit in double figures in each game against Philadelphia but only once went over 20. If Heat the want to keep up with Boston, Herro needs to be a factor.
Keys for the Boston Celtics
On Feb. 1, Boston was in ninth place in the East. Suffice to say, the league’s best defense has propelled the Celtics to this point.
Boston allowed Milwaukee just 97.6 points per game during their series. Giannis Antetokounmpo put up a Herculean effort, but the Celtics clamped down on the rest of the Bucks. In the deciding Game 7, Boston harassed Antetokounmpo as he shot just 10-of-26 from the floor.
Jayson Tatum leads the Celtics offense. The former Duke star averaged 27.6 points a game in the series with the Bucks and 29.9 during the regular season.
2022 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Series Odds
Boston Celtics -160
Miami Heat +130
(We’ll have picks for every game of the series)
2022 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Winner Prediction
Boston and Miami played three times during the regular season. The Celtics won two of the three games. The winner in each game held the loser to fewer than 100 points.
These are two of the best defenses in the NBA. Boston ranks first in opponent points per game, opponent field goal percentage, and defensive efficiency.
Miami is third in opponent points per game and defensive efficiency and fourth in opponent field goal percentage. Like Boston, Miami is very good defending the perimeter. The Heat is first in defending the three. Opponents shoot just 33.8 percent from long range.
On the other end, Miami is the second-best three-point shooting team in the NBA. The Heat has had some struggles shooting from behind the arc, but with Games 1 and 2 in Miami look for them to shoot better.
Miami has been overlooked the entire season. They are being overlooked again as Boston is favored to win this series.
The Heat have won nine straight at home and home-court advantage will matter in this series.
PICK: HEAT +130
Learn how to bet on NBA player props to win more during the NBA conference finals.
