Heat Host Celtics
Even with Kevin Garnett on the court, the Boston Celtics have struggled against the Southeast Division. But that hasn’t been the case against the lowly Miami Heat.
The Celtics hope to have Garnett back Tuesday night when they visit Miami, which is coming off its first victory in more than a month.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Boston -6 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 186 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 68% of bets for this game have been placed on Boston -6 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
Garnett, who averages 19.2 points and a team-leading 9.9 rebounds, is day-to-day with a strained abdominal muscle suffered during an 87-86 win over Minnesota on Friday. The injury forced him to miss a game for the first time this season on Sunday, and Boston lost 96-93 at Orlando on a last-second 3-pointer by Hedo Turkoglu.
"Obviously Kevin is the heart and soul of what we do," said Celtics guard Ray Allen, who scored 17 points. "So it was tough not seeing him out there."
The Celtics (34-8) own the best record in the NBA, but are 6-5 against teams from the Southeast. The only time all season they lost consecutive games came against a team from that division, getting swept in a home-and-home set versus Washington from Jan. 12-14.
However, Boston has won both of its meetings with the Heat (9-33) behind outstanding play from Garnett, who was named to his 11th All-Star game on Thursday.
Garnett had 26 points and 11 rebounds in a 92-91 home victory over Miami on Nov. 16 before scoring 23 points and grabbing nine boards in a 95-85 road win on Nov. 30.
If Garnett can’t play Tuesday, the Celtics would hope for a better performance from his replacement in the starting lineup. Brian Scalabrine filled his spot Sunday and had only one point and one rebound in 22 minutes.
The potential absence of Garnett means Allen and Paul Pierce would try to carry the scoring load. Pierce scored 24 points Sunday, but that was just the second time in 11 games he’s had more than 20 and he’s gone 5-for-18 from 3-point range over the last four games. During that same span, Allen has been held to an average of 16.3 points while shooting 35.8 percent from the field.
Pierce had 27 points in the last meeting with the Heat, giving him a 28.4 scoring average in his last five games against them.
Miami is looking to build on a 98-96 win over Indiana on Saturday, which snapped its 13-game losing streak – second-longest in team history. The Heat hadn’t won since beating Utah on Dec. 22.
"You don’t like to be part of that every day," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "So they’re just happy this thing is over with."
The Heat, who are closing a seven-game homestand, are looking to win back-to-back games for just the second time all season.
They could use another outstanding performance from Dwyane Wade, who had 35 points and eight rebounds against the Pacers. The All-Star guard is averaging 32.6 points over the last five games.
Wade shot 2-of-11 from the field and was held to a season-low 10 points in the last meeting with Boston.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
More NBA Basketball Coverage from theSpread.com
– NBA Basketball teams
– NBA Basketball standings
– NBA Basketball schedule
– NBA Basketball scoreboard
– NBA Basketball injuries
– NBA Basketball matchups
– NBA Basketball stats
– NBA Basketball odds
– NBA Basketball public betting chart
– NBA Basketball news wire
– NBA Basketball top stories
– NBA Basketball trends
– AccuScore NBA Basketball predictions
– Expert NBA Basketball picks
– Comments and discussion
– Signup for theSpread.com daily newsletter
– NBA Basketball Home