The NBA Playoffs continue Saturday with four games featuring multiple games with 2- or 3-game leads over their series opponents. And then there’s the Boston Celtics – the team that finished with the NBA’s best record – in an even series with the Miami Heat, a team missing its star player with Jimmy Butler sidelined with a right knee injury.
After opening the series with a commanding 114-94 victory, Boston’s perimeter defense fell flat in the second game of the series. The Heat made 23 3-point shots Wednesday night to set a new franchise playoff record, and the Celtics could not recover from the 53% shooting outside the arc.
With the third game being played in Miami, can Boston recover from their poor showing to take command of the series? We’ll cover that and the three best player props for this NBA Playoff game on Saturday, April 27.
Live player props data coming soon for Jaylen Brown.
Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown OVER 2.5 3-Point Field Goals
Speaking of hot shooting, Boston shooting guard Jaylen Brown has hit 7-of-14 shots over the two-game series, and he’s at 40% in three other contests against Miami this year. Brown took shy of six shots from deep per regular season game, but he increased that total against Miami.
Brown has not taken less than seven attempts against the Heat’s defense in their five previous games. And the shooting guard has made at least three in every game.
Expect Brown to continue this streak Saturday night, lighting up the scoreboard with at least three shots from behind the arc.
Live player props data coming soon for Tyler Herro.
Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro OVER 6.5 Assists
With Butler sitting on the bench, Miami has run their offense through fifth-year point guard Tyler Herro. The former Kentucky player struggled in the first game, shooting poorly and being clamped down by Boston’s stringent defense.
In the second game, however, Herro came alive for 24 points and 14 assists. Most bettors would ask if this was a one-game fluke. Truthfully, it could be.
Even with Butler playing three other games against the Celtics this season, Herro had six assists in two of those three outings. Expect Herro to dish the basketball on Saturday to cover this player assist prop bet.
Live player props data coming soon for Jayson Tatum.
Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum OVER 8.5 Rebounds
Despite having a significant height advantage, Boston only holds a 41-38 advantage in the rebounding department over Miami in two postseason games. During the regular season, the Celtics were outrebounding the Heat 48-40 in three games.
Hot shooting accounts for part of this discrepancy, but Miami’s hustle to rebound has also closed the gap. Eight or 10. That’s the total number of rebounds Jayson Tatum has accumulated each game the Heat and Celtics have played this season.
In their series-opening win, Tatum had 10 boards. Wednesday, however, Tatum finished eight. Expecting Tatum to cover this player rebound prop bet means …
Best Bet: Boston -9.5
The Celtics have crushed Miami in two of the three regular season contests, and Boston did the same to open the series. The combo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will simply be too much in this one, even on the road.
Expect the top-seeded Celtics to come out with a chip on their shoulder, play a strong defensive effort, and wipe the Heat out in this not-so-close blowout victory Saturday. Lay the points with confidence!
