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- What: NBA Playoffs first round
- Who: Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat
- When: Next game of the series – Wednesday, April 24, 2024
- Where: TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
- How to watch: ESPN2, TNT, NBC Sports Boston
Who’s going to end up winning the 2024 NBA Finals? We’re well on our way to finding out, as the playoffs have arrived and given fans across the globe a lot to be excited about. In the Eastern Conference, one of the best series of the first round is no question the battle between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. The Celtics won Game 1 and now they’re focused on keeping things moving in the right direction. With that said, the Celtics are favorites over Miami in their 2024 NBA postseason series.
In that Game 1 victory, Boston showed how dominant they can be when they catch fire shooting the ball. In the end, the Celtics posted a 114-94 victory. Did anyone expect Boston to post a 20-point victory like that? The win sent a message to the rest of the league and it surely made a lot of other players nervous. When the Celtics are able to play like this, there’s not a team in the entire NBA that can slow them down. Miami still thinks they can turn the series around.
| Celtics vs Heat odds |  |  |  |
| Celtics to win | -1500 | -1500 | -1500 |
| Heat to win | +750 | +750 | +750 |
| Over five games | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under five games | -110 | -110 | -110 |
“I feel like it’s a different ball game if they don’t get off to a hot start at the beginning. You know, like you said, we went on a run in the fourth,” Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo told the media after the Game 1 win. “But, if that start doesn’t happen, if there’s a ball in the air or a ball on the floor and we get those 50-50 balls, it’s a different ballgame.”
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Celtics hold -1500 NBA playoffs betting odds to win the series. Miami is a major underdog with its +750 NBA betting odds to move on to the next round. It would be one of the biggest upsets in NBA history if the Heat were to take down Boston. We just don’t see it happening, as we’re no question going with the Celtics as our pick to move on.
Game Won ✅#DifferentHere pic.twitter.com/etdbqfmo7K
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 21, 2024
Boston remains the favorite to win the 2024 NBA Finals
While we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves here, Boston remains the favorite to win the 2024 NBA Finals. As things stand, the expectation is that the Celtics will be able to cruise past Miami and then move on to the second round to take on the winner of the Cavaliers vs. Magic series. Once those games arrive, Boston will no question be favored to move on to the conference title series. If everything goes to plan, Boston will take on either New York or Milwaukee with a trip to the Finals on the line.
It’s still up in the air who will advance, but people all over Massachusetts are feeling quite confident that the Celtics will be able to go on a deep run. If they do, no one will be shocked, as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continue to be one of the best duos in the game. Earlier this season, Tatum said he’s the best player in the NBA and he’s been backing up that talk in recent weeks. He’s indeed been an absolute superstar for Boston.
the sweet sounds of greatness 🎶 pic.twitter.com/Uaq5nYonMr
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 22, 2024
Per the oddsmakers, the Celtics hold +125 NBA Finals betting odds to win it all. The Denver Nuggets are right behind them and they’re surely feeling great now that they have a 2-0 series lead against the Los Angeles Lakers. Boston is going to do everything possible to try and prevent Denver from repeating as the champs. It will be interesting to see if that happens or not, but Boston supporters think this could prove to be a memorable year for the squad. We’ll find out soon enough if it is.
Jayson Tatum now holds the top NBA MVP odds
In some even more exciting news for Celtics fans, Jayson Tatum holds the top NBA MVP odds with the playoffs here. This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, as Tatum helped power Boston to the best regular season in the NBA for 2023-24, which helped the Celtics capture the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. As things stand, this is a two-man race between Tatum and Denver Nuggets standout Nikola Jokic. This could come down to which players help his team win the Finals later this spring.
Both players are without question among the best in the league. Again, the voters could end up going with whoever wins the title. If Boston goes on to win it all, it’d be quite hard for Tatum to not take home the honors. However, should the Nuggets, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, repeat as the champs, then a lot of Denver fans will be calling for Jokic to win MVP. This is going to be a close battle for the rest of the playoffs. We can’t wait to see what ends up happening here. It will be quite fun.
