Filip Tomic
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The Lakers and Nuggets started off the Western Conference Finals in thrilling fashion last night, now it’s time the Heat and Celtics do the same with the Eastern Finals. You can watch Game 1 live from 8:30 pm ET on TNT and I’ve prepared a Same Game Parlay to spice things up.
Don’t forget to also check our NBA predictions for picks on the side and total for all this week’s action. Let’s dive into my SGP bet now!
Jimmy Butler under 0.5 made threes (+118)
Kyle Lowry over 4.5 assists (+106)
Malcolm Brogdon over 14.5 points (-115)
Same Game Parlay odds: +742
Jimmy Butler under 0.5 made threes (+118)
Jimmy Butler seemed very confident in his series preview interview, but I’m not sure if I share his enthusiasm ahead of this series, at least not from a Miami standpoint. Butler averaged just 21.5 points per game during the 2 regular-season meetings with the Celtics and he failed to make a single 3-pointer in those games. After making 2.4 threes per game in the first round against Milwaukee on 44.4% shooting, he cooled off significantly in the second round against the Knicks, making just 1 three in 5 games on just 11.1% efficiency. I normally do not like betting against players, but in this case I feel like this is a solid bet. The Celtics have held the 76ers to just 27.7% shooting from 3-point land in the last 3 games of their previous series. They were also the 2nd-best home team during the regular season in opponent 3-point percentage, allowing just 32.7% of shots made from the perimeter. Jaylen Brown will be all over Butler and I am really looking forward to that matchup.
Check our Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics predictions
Kyle Lowry over 4.5 assists (+106)
Kyle Lowry keeps racking up assists, and yet the oddsmakers are keeping his line at 4.5 dimes. That’s good news for us bettors, so why not take advantage of that in the series opener? Lowry had a stellar performance in the Game 6 clincher over the Knicks, recording 9 dimes which was a postseason high. He capped off the series averaging 5.7 assists per game, despite coming off the bench and playing 29 minutes per game. The series against Boston should be a good matchup for him, as he has the experience advantage over whoever guards him. That showed during the regular season as he averaged 13.3 points and 5.8 assists per game in the 4 meetings. He also had it going at TD Garden with 17 points and 4.5 assists per game in 2 games played, so I’m hoping he’s able to dish out a few assists. Both meetings in Boston were high–paced games, with 255 and 236 points scored. If that’s the case in Game 1, then we do not have to worry about this bet landing.
Check out my NBA First Basket Scorer Prop Bet for Game 1 of Heat vs Celtics
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Malcolm Brogdon over 14.5 points (-115)
All the attention for the Celtics these days is around Jayson Tatum and his historic performance in Game 7 against Philadelphia, but I feel like Brogdon could be the X-factor in this series. He had only 12 points on Sunday against Philly, but that’s only because Tatum had it going and there was really no need for anyone else to interfere. Brogdon had a really decent series against the 76ers, finishing with an average of 16 points per game while clearing the 14.5-point line in 5 of those games. If we also include the first round against Atlanta, he’s on a run of at least 15 points in 7 of 11 games. Miami is already hampered by a ton of injuries, so I just don’t think the Heat have the necessary depth to keep everyone in check. The main focus will be to slow down Tatum and Brown, so Brogdon will have a solid chance to dominate the second unit. His season-high against the Heat was 21 points, which he scored in the same building in which Game 1 will be played.
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