Betting My Way Through The NBA Playoffs – Game 3: Heat vs. Celtics

ScoresAndOdds NBA betting expert Derek Farnsworth breaks down his expert picks and predictions for Saturday, May 21st. Make sure to use our BetMGM promo for a $1000 free bet!

Welcome back to my NBA betting series. I was ready to throw in the towel after the first half of last night’s game between the Mavericks and Warriors. Dallas couldn’t miss and Golden State couldn’t take care of the ball.

However, it doesn’t take much to get the Warriors snowball rolling downhill when they are playing at home. A couple of made shots and a couple of stops and opponents feel helpless as the Warriors go on these huge runs. I am still hopeful for a long series and the energy is certainly going to shift with Games 3 and 4 being in Dallas. 

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Let’s try to make it a little better by picking a winner between the Heat and Celtics. 

Miami Heat at Boston Celtics: Expert Pick & Prediction

Series: Tied 1-1

The Celtics looked absolutely dominant in Game 2 against the Heat. It was one of their most complete performances of the postseason. As noted in the series preview, they’ve had the toughest route to the Conference Finals of any team still standing. They had to beat Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the first round and had to take out the defending champions in the second round (after trailing 3-2 no less). While they lost Game 1 by double-digits, they won three of the four quarters. They have now tied or led in seven of the eight quarters in this series. 

The Heat had their undefeated home winning streak snapped on Thursday night, but are still only one win away from stealing home-court advantage back from the Celtics. Erik Spoelstra has been here plenty of times and will have his team ready for Game 3. This is a team that is capable of grinding out a win in any environment, so they won’t be fazed by the loud atmosphere expected in Boston. On top of that, we shouldn’t expect the Celtics to shoot 50% from the three-point line or 91% from the free-throw line like they did in Game 2. 

I am a firm believer that home-court matters a lot more in the playoffs than it does during the regular season. The Celtics looked much better offensively with Marcus Smart and Al Horford in the lineup on Thursday and their defense certainly improved as well (especially against Jimmy Butler). I picked Boston to win the series and I’m sticking with them to cover the spread in Game 3. 

• Pick: Boston -6.5, Multiple Sportsbooks