Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat: Tips, Odds, and Match Preview

The Boston Celtics are aiming to end the 2024-25 NBA regular season on a strong note and have done exactly that, as their recent 117-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies extended their winning streak to nine contests. No team in the league is riding a longer winning run than Boston, and the Celtics enter this game holding a 56-19 record, just four games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers in the race for the top seed in the East.

Things are different for the Miami Heat, though. Even though they’re also on a nice winning run of five games after topping the Washington Wizards by a 120-94 score on Monday, Miami sits in ninth place in the standings. If the season ended today, the Heat would have to play two games just to reach the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Will they have enough time to make a push for a Top 8 seed?

Celtics Going for a Sweep

The Celtics have won the previous three head-to-head meetings against the Heat this season, scoring over 100 points and limiting the Heat to 91 points or fewer each time, thus covering a double-digit spread in every game. It’s not a surprise to see Boston as a huge favorite here, as evidenced by the huge spread in pre-game bets.

The fact that the Celtics still have something to play for with only a handful of games left in the season means they shouldn’t be resting any of their key players ahead of this matchup. Boston has the first seed in the East on its sights, and the team will look to take note of the Cavaliers’ poor form to make a late push for the home-field advantage through the Eastern playoffs.

Boston Celtics Injury & Suspension News

The Celtics are listing Jaylen Brown (knee) as a game-time call for Wednesday, though he’s missed the team’s last six games due to a right knee injury. Luke Kornet is also questionable due to an illness.

Can Heat Make a Late Push?

The Heat struggled badly between January and early March, as the Jimmy Butler trade saga affected the team considerably. However, Miami has been playing much better in recent weeks, mainly due to the integration of Andrew Wiggins into the starting lineup and star players Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo getting back to their best form.

It’s unclear if that will allow the Heat to make a push for a Top 8 seed, but the numbers are trending in the right direction. Taking into account the last five games, the Heat rank fourth in offensive rating (123.5), first in net rating (+21.8), and first in true shooting percentage (63.7). If they can keep this up in the final two weeks of the season, then Miami could be a team no one will want to face in the postseason.

Miami Heat Injury & Suspension News

Kevin Love (personal), Andrew Wiggins (hamstring), Duncan Robinson (back), Davion Mitchell (illness) and Nikola Jovic (hand) are all considered game-time decisions for Wednesday. Dru Smith (Achilles) is out for the rest of the season.

Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Prediction

The Celtics are the better team on paper, and while the Heat are trending in the right direction following their five-game winning run, Boston will be too much for them. Not only should the Celtics win, but they should also maintain the tendency to beat Miami by a sizable margin. Thus, I expect the Celtics to cover the spread in this game.

CryptoGamba tip: Celtics (-13.5) – 2.34 @ Stake