The best-of-seven NBA Eastern Conference Finals get underway on Tuesday night. Game 1 from the Orlando bubble pits the surprising Miami Heat against the Boston Celtics. The starting time is 6:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN.
Boston was expected to reach the conference finals according to previous betting odds to win the East. The Milwaukee Bucks were odds-on favorites to win the conference title. This was back in early fall of last year. This held true during the NBA shutdown from mid-March through the end of July and heading into the playoffs.
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The Heat radically changed those plans by eliminating Milwaukee in just five games. This would have to be considered one of the biggest postseason upsets over the past decade in a sport where things normally go chalk among the league’s best teams.
Carrying some much needed rest and quite a bit of momentum into Tuesday’s series opener, Miami is a 1 ½-point underdog against Boston. The total line for Game 1 has been set at 210 ½ points.
The Celtics needed all seven games to get past the defending NBA Champion Toronto Raptors to advance to this round. Wear and tear from that series could be an issue on Tuesday night.
Miami has also won eight of nine previous playoff games both straight-up and against the spread. One of the top online sportsbooks taking action on the series price has Boston listed as a -133 favorite. The series price odds for betting Miami are +113.
Expanding your betting options online for this matchup are the updated odds to win this season’s NBA Championship. Out West, the Los Angeles Lakers have advanced to the finals in that conference. They are waiting to face the winner of Tuesday night’s Game 7 between the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets.
Trailing 3-1, Denver has staved off elimination with two straight wins. They are seven-point underdogs to pull-off an equally shocking upset in this winner-take-all showdown.
Some online books already have a Lakers vs. Clippers series price posted. The Lakers are -111 favorites with their rivals listed as +109 underdogs.
As things stand right now, the Lakers are +125 favorites to win it all. The Clippers are next on the list at +275 odds followed by Boston as a +325 third-favorite. Miami is fourth on the list at +575 with Denver listed as a +1600 longshot.
Riding the hot hand in the East makes some betting sense for Game 1. Miami is as hot as it gets with Boston going 8-3 both SU and ATS over its first 11 postseason contests. The Celtics are actually 2-3 SU over their past five games with a trio of losses to Toronto after taking the early 2-0 series lead.
A Miami win on Tuesday in Game 1 would definitely shake up the NBA series price odds for this matchup. If you like the Heat to take the early series lead, then bet them now at a favorable +113 price. They just knocked off the best team in the East with relative ease.
The price on Boston would go up with a Game 1 win but this could be a good wait and see opportunity. A Celtics’ loss would add value to their new series price for winning the conference title.
