Our free NBA picks are out for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals series between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat! Make sure you check our expert NBA picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free NBA picks for the third game of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and Heat!
Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics – 8.30pm ET
The Conference Final series now moves to Boston for the next two games, and right now it is all level at 1-1. The Miami Heat smashed the Boston Celtics in Game 1, and then the Celtics gave the Heat a little taste of their own medicine, winning Game 2, 127-102.
Jeffery Thomas
The Boston Celtics bounced back in a big way in Game 2 and got a massive 127-102 win on the road in Miami. The game was never in doubt and the return of defensive player of the year Marcus Smart was a game changer. Jimmy Butler backed up his 41 point outing in Game 1 with another solid scoring day, finishing with 29. However, this time around he didn’t get much help as the next highest scorer was Gabe Vincent with 14 points. The three ball continued to be a problem for Miami who was able to win despite only shooting 33% from deep in the opening game.
In Game 2 it caught up with them, as they went 10-34 from the 3-point line (29%) while the Celtics made 20-40. I have a lot of respect for the Heat and think this game will be much closer but Boston is rolling right now and with all their guys back and healthy this is just the better team. Now that they are back at home, I’m loving them even more and I see them getting out front in this series on Saturday.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Boston Celtics (-270)
Noah Dunlap
The Eastern Conference Finals have officially become a series now, as the Boston Celtics responded in big fashion on the road in Game 2, winning by 25, to tie the series at 1. A Celtics team led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown managed to dominate from the opening tip on Thursday night, with Marcus Smart putting up great numbers as well, in his first game of the series. This is a great sign if you’re a Boston fan, as that’s what they’re going to need in virtually every game of this one if they want the chance to take the series, but the fact that they’ve been able to do that without Al Horford, who has been out due to Health and Safety protocols, has to be an encouraging sign for them. They should play better when they get back home to Boston for this Game 3, potentially with Horford back in the lineup.
For Miami, the problem in Game 2 was the same thing that got addressed after Game 1, which was questioning whether they would be able to get enough offensive help from people not named Jimmy Butler to stick around with Boston. In the first game of the series they did, but Thursday night, virtually everyone else was a no-show, as Butler scored 29, but no one else in the lineup scored more than 14. Against a Celtics offense that has picked up the pace recently this postseason, that just isn’t going to get the job done for the Miami Heat. They’re going to need Butler to continue the tear that he’s been on, but they’re also going to need someone like Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro to step up in a major way too, especially with Kyle Lowry out. This is still a wide open series, regardless of the winner of this Game 3, but I think being back home in Boston gives the edge to the C’s by a nose. I don’t think we get a blowout like we’ve seen in the first two games of this series, but I do think Boston gets a close win at home, taking a 2-1 advantage.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Boston Celtics (-270)
Tony Battalio
The Miami Heat looked great in Game 1 of this series. However, in Game 2 they looked terrible as they failed to replicate that Game 1 performance. Now the series heads to Boston tied at one as the Celtics will look to ride the wave of momentum from their Game 2 victory. The Heat will be looking to steal a win at The Garden as they don’t want to go back home down 1-3. They will need Jimmy Butler to keep putting up great performances and they will also need someone else to step up as well because the Celtics showed in round two they won’t be beaten by a single player.
The Boston Celtics are riding high after a fantastic Game 2 performance that saw them even this Eastern Conference Finals series at one game apiece. Jayson Tatum scored 27 which has been one of his quietest playoff performances to date. That just shows how deep that this Boston Celtics team is as Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown both added 24 and Grant Williams had 19 of his own. As for the result of this game, I am going with the Boston Celtics to get the win here in Game 3.
Tony’s NBA Pick: Boston Celtics (-270)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
