Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat picks, predictions, odds: Who wins Eastern Conference Finals?
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The No. 2 seed Boston Celtics and No. 1 seed Miami Heat face off in the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
Which team will win the series and advance to the NBA Finals?
Check out these odds, picks and predictions for the NBA postseason series.
The Celtics are favored over the Heat in the series, according to Tipico Sportsbook.
It puts Boston at -160 to advance. Miami is at +130.
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Sporting News: Celtics win series vs. Heat in six games
Stephen Noh writes: "The Heat's heavy dependence on Butler is going to be their ultimate undoing. He's been unbelievable in the NBA Playoffs, but the Celtics are a team designed to shut him down. They will force the other players on the Heat to beat them. That strategy may not have worked when Herro and Kyle Lowry were backing Butler up. But Herro hasn't been the same player, and Lowry actively hurt the team when he played in the second round because of the hamstring injury that he's been fighting through. The Heat don't have the firepower to beat that strategy. The Heat are going to fight like hell, but I'm picking the Celtics in six."
SB Nation: Celtics win series in six games vs. Heat
Ricky O'Donnell writes: "The big question going into this series is if Miami can score against Boston’s set defense. It seems unlikely. Boston is equipped to guard the Heat in the halfcourt with almost no weak defenders in the rotation. On the other end, it feels like Boston has enough spacing to stretch out the Heat defense and let Tatum go to work against a Heat defense with more weak spots. Miami star Jimmy Butler will put together a Herculean effort, but Boston just feels like the more complete team."
NBA.com: Celtics will defeat Heat in six games
John Schuhmann writes: "The Heat have home-court advantage, they had the East’s best home record (29-12) in the regular season, and they’re 6-0 at home in the playoffs. They’ve barely allowed a point per possession (100.5 per 100) over those six games and won the six by an average of 17 points. But the Celtics are 4-1 on the road, having saved their season with a huge win in Milwaukee in Game 6 of the conference semis. This should be another competitive series, with tough defenses to crack on both ends of the floor. But the Celtics, with fewer defensive weak spots and Tatum’s shot-making, should have better solutions for the Heat’s switching than vice-versa."
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Bleacher Report: Celtics will advance past Heat in Eastern Conference Finals
Andy Bailey writes: "Miami has homecourt advantage and quite possibly the best player in the series, but the Celtics have played like a juggernaut for months. With the number of options they have to throw at Butler and Tatum in the middle of his own superstar stretch, Boston should prevail. From January 1 to the end of the regular season, the Celtics were plus-12.7 points per 100 possessions. And the distance between them and second place was about the same as the distance from second to ninth. In the playoffs, their net rating trails only, well, Miami's, but the Heat didn't have to face the defending champs. Boston's dominant defense will slow down everyone but Butler in the conference finals, and should flip first and second on that net rating leaderboard."
Sportsnaut: Heat will beat Celtics in seven games
Vincent Frank writes: "It really is hard to pick against a Heat squad that looked much superior than its first two opponents in that of the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers. Jimmy Butler is playing at a whole other level on both ends of the court. The expectation here is that Butler’s defense will be enough to prevent Jayson Tatum from dominating on the offensive end of the court. Without Tatum doing his thing, who is going to step up for the Celtics?"
Hoops Rumors: Celtics will win series vs. Heat
The majority of voters in the site's series poll predict that Boston will win the Eastern Conference Finals in six or seven games.
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat NBA Playoffs picks, predictions, odds
