Trent Reinsmith
- Date & Location: Monday, May 23 at TD Garden in Boston, MA
- Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: ABC
The Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics are playing in the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The 2022 NBA season marks the third time the teams have faced each other in the Conference Finals and the fifth time they have played each other in the postseason.
The first time the teams met in the playoffs was in the first round in 2010. Boston won that series in five games. Since then, the Heat have prevailed, beating the Celtics in the semifinals in 2011 in five games and then winning in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2012 (seven games) and 2020 (six games). The Heat lead the current series two games to one.
Miami are the No. 1 seeded team in the Eastern Conference. They defeated the Atlanta Hawks (4-1) in the first round before claiming their place in the Conference Finals with a six-game series win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Boston are the No. 2 team in the East. The Celtics swept Brooklyn in the first round and then went seven games with defending NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinal round.
Before we look at Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Series between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, check out the odds for the 2022 NBA Playoffs and our guide to betting on the basketball, as well as the NBA Finals.
Heat vs. Celtics Game 4 picks
| To Win 2022 NBA Eastern Conference Final Game 4 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Miami Heat | +250 | +225 | +240 | +240 | +240 |
| Boston Celtics | -300 | -265 | -300 | -300 | -300 |
Miami Heat breakdown and analysis
Game 2 of the series between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics did not go well for Miami. Boston won the game 127-102. The loss caused Miami’s Bam Adebayo to comment, “They beat us like we stole something in Game 2.” Miami had a much better Game 3, topping the Celtics 109-103.
Adebayo led Miami in Game 3 with 31 points and 10 rebounds.
However, it was not all good news for the Heat, as the team’s best player, Jimmy Butler left the court at halftime with knee problems. Butler played 20 minutes and put up eight points before he left the game. Butler has averaged 28.1 points per game this year in the postseason while playing 36 minutes.
The silver lining of Butler being pulled at the half is that his knee issues do not look like they will prevent him from playing in Game 4. The Heat are a great team this year, but they are a better team with Butler on the court.
Boston Celtics breakdown and analysis
The two stats that stood out for the Boston Celtics in Game 3 was the number of turnovers the club committed and the number of shots the teams had. Those numbers are connected.
Boston had a higher field goal percentage than Miami in Game 3 — 48.6 percent vs. 46.7 percent, but Miami had 92 shots vs. 70 for the Celtics, a lot of Miami’s shots came off the 23 turnovers Boston had. Boston has to do whatever it can to minimize turnovers in Game 4 and the rest of the series.
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics in scoring with 40 points, but he also had the most turnovers on the team with 7. Brown’s turnover numbers in the first two games of the series were two and one. Jayson Tatum, who is leading the Celtics in scoring in the playoffs with an average of 26.9 points, had six turnovers in Game 3.
Our pick
Despite the number of turnovers and lack of shots, Boston was in the hunt to win Game 3. Look for an improved performance from the Celtics in Game 4. I expect the series will be even following Monday’s game.
Pick: Boston Celtics to defeat Miami Heat in Game 4 of Eastern Conference Finals
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