Tuesday Night in the NBA will see the Miami Heat travel north to take on the Boston Celtics. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 pm start time and it will be televised live on TNT. Currently the odds have Boston favored by 7 points with the total sitting at 180.5 points for the contest.
Free Analysis: When the Celtics and Heat collide these days, there is usually a lot of hype heading into the contest, however not this time. With the playoff seeding all but locked away for both Boston and Miami, both teams will look to rest their stars before postseason play begins. The 'Big Three' for Miami, along with Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo are all questionable for tonight's contest. Not only that, but Doc Rivers might decided to rest aging stars in Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Miami only has a slim chance of catching Chicago for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but Boston has a better shot of getting home-court advantage in its first-round series against Atlanta. While Boston has the No. 4 seed in the East via the Atlantic Division title, it needs to gain a game on fifth-seeded Atlanta over the final two contests in order to start the postseason at home. The Celtics (37-27) still opted to rest Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen in Friday's 97-92 loss to the Hawks. Pierce and Garnett could return Tuesday, but Allen (ankle) and Rondo (back) remain day-to-day with injuries. Allen, who has missed seven straight games, sat out Monday's practice along with Rondo, Mickael Pietrus and Greg Stiemsma. The Celtics have gotten great contributions form Avery Bradley, who has started 16 of the last 17 games with Allen banged up. The second-year guard is averaging 15.5 points in that stretch after scoring a career-high 28 on Friday. The Heat (46-18) would need to win twice and have the Bulls lose two to get the No. 1 spot, a scenario that seems unlikely with Chicago hosting Cleveland in its finale Thursday. Miami has not said how it will proceed after it bounced back from a tough loss to Washington on Saturday with a 97-88 victory Sunday against Houston. Wade and Bosh sat out along with Mario Chalmers (flu) and Ronny Turiaf (hamstring). Bosh has missed the last four games with muscle fatigue in his legs, while Wade dislocated his left index finger Saturday. James rested Saturday, but had 32 points, eight rebounds and five assists Sunday. It's unclear if he'll play in the final two games. James is averaging 27.1 points and has scored at least 30 six times this month. Head to head, the Heat are 1-7 ATS in the last 8 meetings in Boston, while the home team is 10-4 ATS in the last 14 meetings. The Celtics are 3-0-2 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600, 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 home games and 11-4-2 ATS in their last 17 games overall. The Heat on the other hand are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall, but just 2-8 ATS in their last 10 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600 and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games.
Free Pick: A lot of offense could be left on the benches for this one and that clearly has me looking at the Under here. the Heat have been resting of late and it has shown in their offense as they have averaged just 90 ppg in their last 4 games. Interesting part there is that all 4 were at home, where this team has averaged 100.4 ppg on the year. Now te head to a place where the Celtics have allowed just 85.3 ppg on 40.3 % shooting for the year. Gonna be hard for the heat to get to 90 points in this one. The Celts offense has been scoring better of late, but still they averaged just 92.8 ppg at home. Miami has really stepped it up defensively of late as they have allowed just 79.5 ppg in their last 4 games and that will also make it hard for this Boston offense to post 90 points in this one. Boston home games have averaged 178 ppg and I don't see more than that tonight.
$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free
Plus, many more membership benefits...
Nothing is required from you - EVER!
Your info is 100% safe & private with Pregame.com - Guaranteed! Click here to join...
Free Picks: Clippers at Hawks Betting
http://PregameVideos.com - Clippers are still playing for a title and Hawks are playing lackluster defense while waiting for playoffs plus other factors NBA bettors need to know about Clippers at Hawks (Tuesday, April 24, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Bryan Leonard and analysis from host Scott Spreitzer.