Heat vs Celtics odds and predictions: Who is the favorite to make it to the 2023 NBA Finals?

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics will play each other in the NBA Eastern Conference finals for the second consecutive season. Last year, they took it all the way to Game 7 with the Celtics eventually coming out on top. Boston went on to lose in the Finals to the Golden State Warriors.

Game 1 between the Celtics and the Heat takes place tonight at TD Garden in Boston at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The NBA Conference Finals schedule

Heat vs Celtics: Who are the favorites?

Last year, the Heat was the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference. This year, they finished at No.8, but have been defying odds since then - first, by squeaking their way into the postseason by way of the Play-in, then by beating the No. 1 team in the East, the Bucks, and now by making it all the way to the Conference Finals after their win over the New York Knicks.

The Celtics, meanwhile, finished No. 2 in the Eastern Conference and are considered the favorites heading into the Conference Final series as well as the overall favorites to win the NBA Finals. They got to this point by beating the Hawks and then MVP Joel Embiid’s 76ers.

The seeding doesn’t seem to matter much in this NBA postseason, and especially not for Miami, who’ve counted on Jimmy “Playoff Jimmy” Butler to help them clinch even the most seemingly hopeless of games. Butler has averaged 31.1 points on 52.7% shooting, with 6.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.7 steals in the playoffs. In his biggest games, he put up 56 points. Unfortunately, he hasn’t looked so unstoppable since he rolled his ankle in Game 1 against the Knicks. Since then, he’s averaged 24.5 points per game on 41.7% accuracy.

Jimmy Butler’s big earnings and future with the Heat

But the Heat seem to just have one go-to guy with Butler, whereas the Celtics have several. They obviously have star Jayson Tatum, but they can also count on Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon, and Derrick White to defend against Butler. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla made some adjustments in the last series, starting Al Halford and Robert Williams, which he’d likely do again to defend against Bam Adebayo and Kevin Love, making it difficult for them to score from deep.

I love a good underdog story and in the NBA postseason, you just never know what could happen. But I’m agreeing with the experts and taking the Celtics to win this series in 6.