Filip Tomic
Show Bio
The Celtics and Heat renew their rivalry tonight at the Kaseya Center as they lock horns for the 2nd time this NBA regular season. With the 2 teams headed in different directions at the moment, this game carries a little bit more weight than usual. I’ve prepared a Celtics vs Heat Same Game Parlay to make things a bit more interesting, with tip-off slated for 7.30 pm ET on TNT. You can also check out our NBA picks for our individual game previews tonight.
Jaylen Brown to record 1+ steals (-330)
Kristaps Porzingis 3+ made threes (+210)
Derrick White over 14.5 points (-106)
Same Game Parlay odds: +583
Jaylen Brown to record 1+ steals (-330)
When you have two dogs like Jaylen Brown and Jimmy Butler on the court at the same time, you just know the defensive intensity in tonight’s game will be high. Brown loves to compete on both ends, and that’s exactly why the Celtics gave him the biggest contract extension in NBA history this past summer. Although he didn’t have a steal in the win over Dallas the other day, he was on a run of 4 consecutive games with at least 1 ball theft before that.
In head-to-head meetings with Miami, he’s averaging exactly 2 steals per game in the last 5 played, while recording at least 1 in each of those games. One of the reasons why Miami has been so poor on offense lately has been their carelessness with the basketball. In their last 3 games, they’re turning the ball over at a rate of 17.7 times per game — for comparison, the Utah Jazz turn the ball over 16 times per game for the season which is the highest mark in the NBA. Let’s hope Brown stays active here.
After yesterday’s parlay win, don’t miss our NBA mega parlay for tonight’s games at +1230 odds
Kristaps Porzingis 3+ made threes (+210)
Porzingis took the night off against his former team on Monday and the Celtics were able to get the dub even without his services. He returns to the lineup with some fresh legs, giving the C’s another dimension on offense here. His three-point shooting has been remarkable in January, going from 32% efficiency in December to 43.6% this month. KP was on fire in the win over Houston, knocking down 6 threes en route to a 32-point game. He’s cleared this line 3 times in 4 games, so why not continue going with the hot hand here? Especially since the Heat have struggled so much to contain teams around the perimeter. Opponents are knocking down 41.4% of three-point attempts in their last 3 games against the Heat and we just saw the severely limited Grizzlies go 47.2% from downtown against them last night. Look out for Porzingis to have a good game here.
Derrick White over 14.5 points (-106)
As good as Jayson Tatum and Brown have been this season, relying on them to score 30+ points in every single game would only hurt the Celtics further down the line in the season. Instead, players like Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White have all made a name for themselves this year — especially White, who has blossomed into one of the NBA’s best role players. Although his scoring is down from the previous month, he has been on a solid run lately, going over 20 points in 3 of his last 4 games. He’s knocked down at least 3 threes in 4 of his last 5 games and he too should be able to make the most out of Miami’s defensive struggles in tonight’s game. White is also averaging 19.4 points per game in the last 5 meetings with Miami, and one of his best games of the season came against the Heat in late October when he torched them for 28 on 60% shooting. In those 5 games, he has a couple of them with 5 and 6 threes scored, and we can only hope the hot form carries over to Thursday’s game.
Read our full Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat predictions
