Celtics vs. Heat NBA expert prediction and odds for Thursday, Jan. 25 (Bet on Boston)
Betting odds, pick and prediction for the Boston Celtics-Miami Heat matchup on Thursday night.
By Peter Dewey
The Boston Celtics are favored on the road on Thursday night in an Eastern Conference Finals rematch with the Miami Heat.
The Heat just traded for a former Celtic – guard Terry Rozier – but they still lost on Wednesday night and are in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
Does that continue tonight at Kaseya Center?
The Celtics have rebounded nicely since losing their first home game of the season, and the team has picked up its play on the road – especially in terms of covering the spread.
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Let’s break down the odds and a best bet for this matchup on Thursday:
Celtics vs. Heat odds, spread and total
Celtics vs. Heat how to watch
- Date: Thursday, Jan. 25
- Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
- Venue: Kaseya Center
- How to watch (TV): TNT
- Celtics record: 34-10
- Heat record: 24-20
Celtics vs. Heat injury reports
Boston Celtics injury report
- Drew Peterson – out
- JD Davison – out
Miami Heat injury report
- Not submitted yet
Celtics vs. Heat key players to watch
Boston Celtics
Kristaps Porzingis: Boston is 24-8 when Porzingis plays this season, and the team is 12-4 when he scores 20 or more points. This won’t be an easy matchup for the Celtics big man against Bam Adebayo, who slowed down Jaren Jackson Jr. (5-for-21 shooting) on Wednesday night. If Porzingis can have a strong game, Boston should be in a great spot to win.
Miami Heat
Terry Rozier: Rozier made his Heat debut on Wednesday, scoring nine points on 3-of-11 shooting in 29 minutes. Now, he returns to face one of his former teams, the Celtics, on Thursday. Miami needs Rozier to get comfortable to provide a scoring boost to an offense that is averaging 110.5 points per game – good for 27th in the NBA.
Celtics vs. Heat prediction and pick
Boston started the year off on a bad note on the road, but the team has been dominant as a road favorite over its last 10 games in that spot, going 7-3 ATS.
I think that continues in this matchup.
This is the second game of a back-to-back for Miami, and the team lost to the Memphis Grizzlies – one of the league’s worst teams – despite Jaren Jackson Jr. shooting 5-for-21 from the field.
The Heat can’t score the ball right now, averaging the fewest points per game in the NBA over its last four games.
Miami is just 1-3-1 against the spread on the second night of back-to-backs this season, and it could look to sit out a player like Jimmy Butler, who has been banged up this season.
Boston should run away with this game with the rest advantage and a healthy roster heading into Thursday.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.