Boston Celtics fans, you’ve been here before. This offseason in fact. The reality is, however, that this one means more.
It’s been 12 years since the Celtics have been to the NBA Finals. Since 2017 alone, the Cs have been to the Eastern Conference finals four times.
It’s been just two years since the Heat ripped away the only happiness many fans in Boston and the world over had during some of the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic with a six-game triumph over the Cs in the ECF.
Now, they can do the same thing, this time on their home floor, in a Game 7 that will determine who will represent the east against the Golden State Warriors — whose return to the NBA Finals, fueled in part like Klay Thompson in 2019 and prior, marks the true end to the pandemic era of basketball and the world at large.
Could the Boston Celtics avoid such a fate and instead punch a ticket to their third NBA Finals in the 21st century?
Hardwood Houdini has your odds and a prediction for the ESPN-televised tilt between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat Sunday night:
Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat odds, spread, over/under
According to WynnBet, the Celtics are 2.5-point favorites against the Heat on the road. Miami is a +115 underdog at home, with the Cs moneyline set at -140. The over/under for the game has been placed at 196 points.
Celtics vs. Heat prediction
Momentum means nothing in this series. Each game has represented a unique battle, with the only trend being back-to-back sub-83 point efforts from Miami in Game 4 and Game 5 that ceded control to the Cs.
The Heat were on fire to save their postseason existence in Game 6, but the Houdini is going to (optimistically) glean from the previous games’ trends and fade the FTX Arena’s home team.