In 2020, he had a relatively quiet series against Boston (his 19.0 ppg were his lowest average in four series that year), but the Heat had three other players average more than 19 ppg as they won the series in six games. And in these playoffs, Butler has averaged 28.7 points per game with improved shooting both in and outside the paint. Can Butler continue to carry the offense?: Jimmy Butler has had pretty rough shooting numbers from outside the paint over the last few years, but he can still have some big offensive games and big moments. Miami’s advantages could come via screening actions or on the offensive glass.Ģ. For Boston, that could be Tatum or Jaylen Brown attacking the Heat’s lesser defenders. This will likely be a switch-heavy series that could come down to which team can better take advantage of mismatches. And though they adjusted their pick-and-roll coverage a bit late in the conference semis, the Heat have switched 40% of ball screens, the fourth-highest rate (second-highest among the eight teams to advance out of the first round). A switchy series: The Celtics have switched 55% of ball screens in the playoffs, the highest rate among 16 playoff defenses (and more than double the rate of the other 15). Game 1 is in Miami on Tuesday ( 8:30 ET, ESPN).ġ. Robert Williams III (left knee soreness) has missed the last four games for the Celtics, but could be the more likely of the two to play early in this series. Kyle Lowry (left hamstring strain) has missed six of Miami’s last eight games and did not look good when he tried to play Game 4 of the conference semis. The Heat don’t have the storied history of the Celtics, but they’re in the conference finals for the ninth time in the franchise’s 34 seasons.īoth teams have been able to overcome an injury in their starting lineup. The Celtics have reached the conference finals for the fourth time in the last six seasons, looking to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. Jayson Tatum has evolved into a star and the Boston defense has been stifling. But the Celtics have been the best team in the league over the last 3 1/2 months, and they just eliminated the defending-champion Milwaukee Bucks. Home-court advantage matters this time, and the Heat have it as the East’s top seed. Some faces have changed, but these are largely the same cores that faced off two years ago. We have a rematch of the 2020 conference finals, a series that was played in Orlando’s COVID-19 “bubble” and won by the Miami Heat. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER.Eastern Conference finals preview: Celtics vs. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. In terms of makes, 69.5% of Miami's baskets are 2-pointers, and 30.5% are 3-pointers. Miami attempts 59.2% percent of its shots from inside the 3-point line, and 40.8% percent from beyond it.They are fourth-worst in 3-point percentage at 34.4%. Beyond the arc, the Heat are 16th in the league in 3-pointers made per game (12).At 23.8 assists per game, the Heat are 25th in the NBA.However defensively it is second-best (109.8 points allowed per game). On offense Miami is the worst team in the NBA (109.5 points per game).It has shot 48% from three-point land (38% of the team's baskets). This season, Boston has taken 52% two-pointers, accounting for 62% of the team's baskets. Meanwhile, they rank sixth with a 37.6% shooting percentage from downtown. The Celtics are top-five this year in three-point shooting, ranking second-best in the league with 16 three-pointers per game. The Celtics are dishing out 26.7 dimes per game, which ranks them seventh in the NBA in 2022-23.When it comes to points, Boston is thriving at both ends of the court, as it ranks fourth-best in the league in points scored (117.9 per game) and fourth-best in points allowed (111.4 per contest).Watch live NBA games without cable on all your devices with a seven-day free trial to Fubo! Celtics Performance Insights 333 winning percentage for the Heat as a moneyline underdog (8-16). 716 winning percentage as a moneyline favorite (53-21) this season, better than the. Boston's games have gone over the total 52.4% of the time this season (43 out of 82), which is more often than Miami's games have (40 out of 82).When the spread is set as 8.5 or more this season, Boston (14-14-1) covers a lower percentage of those games when it is the favorite (48.3%) than Miami (1-1) does as the underdog (50%).
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