The NBA Playoffs continue Monday night in Game 1 between the visiting Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. The NBA Playoff odds for the game have the Heat favored by 8 points. The game is scheduled for a 8:30 pm start time and it will be televised live on ESPN. The spread shows that bookmakers have a prediction of a win at home for the Heat.

Picks: The Heat and Celtics have had some memorable playoff series the past few years and now they play for a chance at a possible NBA title. Miami has been sitting around for a while, having closed out the Indiana Pacers last week. Boston is coming off a Game 7 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, so their turnaround time is incredibly short. However, playing in a Game 7 just a few days ago might help the Celtics and their must-win attitude. Boston did not hold practice Sunday, instead handing out scouting reports and flying to Miami. This year marks the fifth time in seven years that either Boston or Miami will win the Eastern Conference championship. Heat guard Dwyane Wade said the matchup between the two squads is exactly what the fans of the NBA want. "Inevitable. It's the matchup the game of basketball wants," he said. "Obviously, with the Chicago Bulls being out, this is the biggest matchup the Eastern Conference can have. So we accept the challenge and we look forward to the series." In case you are wondering, Miami beat Boston in five games in last year's East semifinals, and the Celtics took three of four games from Miami this season. LeBron James and Cleveland lost to the Celtics in seven games back in 2008, so he is familiar with what the defensive Boston club is going to try and do. It could be a grueling matchup between the teams. The Celtics are averaging just 88.1 points in the playoffs while James and Wade are tossing in 53 points per game. Chris Bosh is still sidelined and the Heat are approaching it like he won't be back the rest of the post season. Boston is going to want to slow this game down and play at a much slower pace while Miami is going to get out and run. The Celtics do not want a track meet in this contest because they'll get their doors blown off if that's the case. Expect Boston to try and slow it down as much as possible.

Prediction: The Heat have been sitting around and waiting to play someone, and I think they are excited to be taking on Boston again. As Wade said, this is the matchup the fans want to see. Wade and James have been carrying the Miami club and it's no surprise to think they'll have to do it again this series. Talk all you want about Boston's Big Three being old, but they have played well in this post season. I don't think the Heat will be taking the Celtics lightly but it seems as if the oddsmakers and bettors are, at least for the first game. I'm going to scoop up the four possessions and Celtics tonight. Heat 93, Celtics 89

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