The No. 2 seed Boston Celtics will host the No. 8 seed Miami Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday. The Heat knocked out the top-seed Milwaukee Bucks in the first round before beating the New York Knicks in the semifinals. On the flip side, Boston topped the Atlanta Hawks before defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in a grueling seven-game series. The Celtics are favored by 8.5 in the latest Celtics vs. Heat odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under is 213.

The game at TD Garden in Boston will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET. Before you make any Heat vs. Celtics picks or any other NBA predictions, you NEED to see which side Matthew Severance is on. 

Severance is a well-connected writer and handicapper who has worked in the industry since 2005. He is Sportsline's top NBA expert, entering the Conference Finals on a sizzling 99-52-1 (+3310) roll on his picks! 

Now, he has set his sights on Heat vs. Celtics and locked in his picks.

The expert knows Miami forward Jimmy Butler is an exceptional leader for this group. Butler is constantly attacking downhill and has a knack for creating contact to get to the line. The Marquette product is leading the team in points (31.1 per game), assists (5.4), and steals (1.7). In the Game 6 win over the Knicks, Butler finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

The expert also knows Boston forward Jayson Tatum continues to be an excellent three-level scorer. Tatum knows how to break down defenses with ease and has a reliable jumper. The four-time All-Star is first on the squad in scoring (28.2), rebounds (10.6), and assists (5.2). On Sunday, Tatum exploded for an NBA record 51 points in Game 7 along with 13 boards and five assists.

Now, Severance has locked in another confident against the spread pick for Heat vs. Celtics. We can tell you he's leaning Over on the point total, but he knows a crucial X-factor makes one side of the spread a MUST-BACK! You ABSOLUTELY need to see what it is before locking in any picks of your own.

So who wins Heat vs. Celtics? And which critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine now to get Matt Severance's Celtics vs. Heat picks, all from the top NBA expert on a 99-52-1 roll!