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For whatever reason, Bam Adebayo averages more rebounds and assists on the road than at home. Outside Miami, he averaged 12.8 rebounds and assists per game in the regular season, compared to 11.9 at home. The playoffs have been no different. He's averaging 14.4 rebounds and assists in eight road playoff games compared to 10.4 at home. Barring a blowout, he'll play a lot of minutes again tonight, and shouldn't have trouble going over this total.
Marcus Smart hasn't been as effective in this series as he was against Philly, but he's done an excellent job of distributing the ball. He only had three assists in Game 2, but has finished with at least six in the other three games. He's also finished with at least six assists in 22 of Boston's 37 home games this season, and in five of his seven games against the Heat.
Bam Adebayo had a very quiet game 4 performance attempting just 7 shots and finishing with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 0 assists. Miami Coach Eric Spoelstra, Bam, and Bam's teammates have all acknowledged they will need a greater effort from Bam tonight in order to be successful. Adebayo has often struggled with consistency throughout his career, on any given night he will play like one of the better big men in the NBA and then the next game he will be passive and barely show up on the stat sheet. I expect to see a lot more offense run through Bam tonight and his usage to increase as a result, especially with Gabe Vincent (18 PPG in the ECF) on the shelf.
Jaylen Brown isn't healthy. He hurt his elbow falling to the floor in Game 1 and his shot hasn't been right since. After opening the series with 22 points on 10/21 shooting, he's shot 35.7% in the last three games while averaging 15 points. He's only shooting 42.9% at the free throw line. Almost all his points have come at the rim, and he looks hesitant to shoot from the mid-range and beyond. It's hard to score 23 points at the rim in one game.
Robert Williams brings energy to the Boston Celtics. He has gone over this line in 6 of the 9 home games this playoffs averaging 15.2 points + assists + rebound. The Celtics shot their best 3-point game at 40% in game 4, if the three point shot starts to fall again look for the heat to start drifting closer to the 3 point line opening the lane for the Celtics only rim runner in Robert Williams.
When I first saw the line come out for this game, I thought the Heat would cover as big underdogs. However, I’m worried with Gabe Vincent (ankle) now out. He has played a key role in this series, averaging 17.5 points in 35 minutes per game. With that in mind, I’ll switch over to the total and take the over. It barely missed in Game 4 with both teams combining for 215 points. There were at least 216 points scored in each of the first three games. If the Celtics remain dialed in from behind the arc, they could score plenty. The absence of Vincent could also mean more minutes for Duncan Robinson, who can score in bunches when he is locked in from deep.
There are a few ways to lean props-wise with Gabe Vincent out tonight for the Heat but my first reaction is Lowry should move into the starting lineup and play more minutes -- Lowry hasn't played more than 28 in the series yet but has topped this number twice. The Heat need fellow guards like Jimmy Butler and Max Strus to focus on scoring not facilitating.
You won't see me play a big moneyline favorite very often, but I like this spot for the Celtics. The Celtics are the top team in the NBA in Rim and 3 rate per ShotQuality. The injury to Gabe Vincent is significant as it makes that Miami backcourt a little thin and changes the Miami look defensively. Look for Jayson Tatum to take over this game for the Celtics as they extend the series. Miami will try to get healthy and take care of business back in South Beach.
Big number but it's still a little soft as I have Tatum at 32.8 median projection in this situation (must win playoff game at home). The biggest difference in home vs. road games for Tatum has been the free throw line. He attempted 23 free throws in games 1 and 2, and just 3 free throws in the two road games combined. Looking back in the 76ers series we saw a very similar result: 27 free throws in final two home games and just 12 free throws in final two away games. The minutes, usage, and opportunity will be there for Jayson Tatum tonight. Expect a friendly whistle as Jayson Tatum has a big night to extend the series.
Grant Williams got himself into hot water by trash talking with Jimmy Butler in Game 2. However, after not playing in Game 1, Williams has logged at least 26 minutes in each of the last three games. That helped him record at least 11 combined points and rebounds each time. In fact, the last two games, he has scored 12 and 14 points alone, respectively. With the expectation that he plays at least 25 minutes again, the over is the way to go here.
This number is finally starting to climb for Caleb Martin. Still, I think it’s too low. He has scored at least 15 points in all four games of this series, shooting 63.8 percent from the field along the way. He played at least 30 minutes in all four games and should continue to spend a ton of time on the floor with Kevin Love struggling to defend. Give me the over.
Winning game four has left the door open for Boston to extend the series against the Miami Heat. Boston finally had success on knocking down open jump shots in game four. In total they drained eighteen three point shots and also won the turnover battle against the Heat. I expect this line to climb overnight and closer to game time. Grab the number now.