Heat at Celtics NBA Playoffs Predictions

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The No. 5 seed Miami Heat and the No. 4 seed Boston Celtics kick off their first round playoff series on Saturday, April 17th at 8:00 p.m. EST on ESPN. The Heat enter the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the NBA, having won 12 of their last 13 games. Meanwhile, Boston did not look like much of a championship team down the stretch, losing seven of its last 10. But Boston did have Miami’s number this season, winning all three meetings with two of those coming in Miami. In this article, we’ll take a look at what each team needs to do to win this series, and then I’ll make my final prediction. NBA odds makers have listed the Boston Celtics as a 4.5-point favorite with the total set at 185 in Game 1. Looking for a place to bet your NBA picks? Do your NBA betting at BetUS where our readers get $500 in free bonus cash!

What the Celtics need to do to win: Boston needs to get back to playing the type of in-your-jersey defense that earned it a championship two years ago. On the season, the Celtics’ defensive numbers are pretty good. They ranked No. 5 in the NBA in scoring defense, allowing only 95.6 points per game. However, Boston’s level of effort on the defensive end has not been very good down the stretch. As a result, the Celtics have allowed eight of their last nine opponents to score 100 or more points. The guy they’ll have to shut down to win this series is Dwayne Wade. Wade is one of the most prolific scorers in the league so he is going to get his points, but the Celtics need to make sure he takes a lot of shots to get those points. No one guy on the Celtics can shut down Wade so they are going to have to play great team defense. Boston’s big three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are all starting to show some age so it will be Rajon Rondo’s time to shine in these playoffs. If Rondo plays well, Boston should move on to round two. You can bet the Celtics at +1200 to win the 2010 NBA Finals.

What the Heat need to do to win: The Heat need to make sure Dwayne Wade is getting plenty of help if they hope to knock out Boston. You can bet that the Celtics will collapse on Wade, forcing the other guys to beat them. This means that Michael Beasley, Jermaine O’Neal and Udonis Haslem must all score the basketball. Beasley poses matchup problems for the Celtics because of his size and versatility, but he must be consistent in this series. Right now, he’s a guy who will score 20 points one night and eight the next. Miami will need him to be very aggressive in this series. Wade will get his teammates open shots when the Celtics collapse on him so it will be up to Beasley and the rest to knock them down. You can bet the Heat at +10000 to win the 2010 NBA Finals.

Prediction: Celtics in 7 – I don’t like the way Boston played down the stretch and Miami comes in with a ton of confidence, but I like the Celtics to eventually move on. Miami just doesn’t have enough fire power behind Wade, and I think Boston will rediscover its defense. Bet the Celtics at +700 to win the Eastern Conference.

Jimmy Boyd enters the 2010 NBA Playoffs on a Red Hot 7-2 NBA Run. Looking back further, he is on a Ridiculous 236-183 NBA Roll (profiting $1,000/unit bettors $121,550). You can pick up his expert basketball picks clear through the playoffs by signing up for his NBA Playoffs Pass.

About the Author: Jimmy Boyd is known for his consistency. He's a proven winner in college and pro football, college and pro basketball and pro baseball. He finished as the No. 1 ranked MLB handicapper in 2007 by earning $1,000/game bettors $50,050. He also finished as the No. 1 ranked basketball handicapper in the 2008-09 season, profiting $1,000/game bettors 38,530. His basketball plays have banked $1,000/game bettors nearly $80,000 the last five years. Check out Jimmy's premium picks for tonight!
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