NBA playoffs: Heat vs. Celtics Game 2 odds, expert pick, prediction for 4/24  

Heat vs. Celtics Prediction for Game 2

Wednesday, April 24, 7 p.m. ET, TNT

Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute NBA odds here.

Miami Heat  

Not even Playoff Jimmy and Scary Terry going for revenge in Boston would be enough to give the Miami Heat a fighting chance. Game 1 started with a 14-0 Celtics run, and they never looked back. The Miami Heat had a wire-to-wire deficit in Game 1. The Heat will try and make some adjustments, and I expect them to play more 3-2 zone to help run the Celtics off the 3-point line. Ultimately, being on the road, with less rest during the week because of the play in and injuries depleting the depth, it's a tough time to be a Miami Heat supporter. As I said before Game 1, this is no longer the Heat monster we've seen emerge in past seasons.

Boston Celtics 

Celtics Game 1 backers were very pleased with Boston's opening run and subsequent double-digit lead for the entire game. In this series, the Celtics have nearly every advantage — top-end talent, a strong home-court advantage and rested and healthy players (aka more depth). The one disadvantage is coaching, though Joe Mazzulla still led this team to a No. 1 seed with insane regular season net-rating metrics. Erik Spoelstra is the best, but Mazzulla is emerging as a top coach in the league and is finalist for the Coach of the Year Award. This series has Celtics written all over it. It's going to be tough to stop this freight train.

Heat vs. Celtics

Betting Pick & Prediction

The Heat vs. Celtics Game 2 odds opened at Celtics -15 and the over/under at 206.5. The over took some quick movement and now sits at 207.5. To bet this game, I'd look into three possible angles.

Over 207, Game 1 landed at 208 and the pregame market took late over steam. Celtics -15, I recommend waiting in case Jimmy Butler or Terry Rozier gets cleared. This number is not going out to 16, and could get better on the Celtics side. The spread bet will qualify for a 1st-Round Favorites System play, which has a 60% cover rate and an 18% ROI going back to 2005.

However, I'm willing to just forego the numbers and play the -1200 moneyline. I would lay three units and bring home a quarter of a unit. I am never scared of playing a heavily juiced moneyline, I just don't bet 12 units to win one and overexpose myself.

Sometimes, you just gotta make your lay ups.

Pick: Celtics Moneyline