Celtics and Heat Meet on Sunday in Game 7 Showdown
Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and Heat will take place on Sunday, May 29 at Miami's FTX Arena. Here's our prediction.
Boston had their chance to put away the hobbling Heat who are still burdened with numerous injuries, but then blew it big time on Friday night. The Heat outshot, outplayed, and outhustled the shockingly inconsistent Celtics on their home court in Boston, stunning oddsmakers as +8.5-point underdogs.
The Heat led for the vast majority of the game, and were up by double-digits at various stages. Now, the to Eastern Conference finalists head south to Miami for the decisive Game 7 showdown. The winner advances to the NBA Finals to face the Golden State Warriors, who will be rested and ready.
The Celtics are a 2.5-point favourite in the game, according to Spreads.ca. Boston is -130 on the money line and Miami is +110. The over/under for the game is set at 198.5 points.
Tip-off is Sunday at 3:30 pm EST.
Prediction (powered by Pointspreads.ca):
Here's an interesting stat that's impossible to ignore -- there have been 145 Game 7’s in NBA playoff history, and the home team has won 76 percent of the time (111 games).
Boston was exposed as soft in Game 6. That was their chance to beat the top seed. But they couldn't do it, even with the Heat not at full strength.
Boston should win as they are favoured, but Miami is clearly the mentally stronger team. At home, and getting points, this is a no-brainer. The Heat are 18-6 ATS this season when playing as at least 2.5-point underdogs. We'll go with the more determined physical team on their home court with history on their side.
