Celtics
The Celtics are the heavy betting favorites to win this year’s playoff series between the two teams compared to last year.
Jayson Tatum and the Celtics are looking for revenge on the Heat. Megan Briggs/Getty Images
Once again, the Celtics are big favorites to win their playoff series against the Heat.
Boston has -3,000 odds to win the series against Miami at several sports betting sites, including DraftKings and ESPN Bet. At -3000, the Celtics have a 96.77% implied probability of winning the series.
The Celtics are even bigger favorites at a few other sports bets. At BetMGM, Boston has odds of -5,000 to beat Miami, or an implied probability of 98.04 percent. At Caesars Sportsbook, -6,000 odds of winning the first round series, which is an implied probability of 98.36 percent.
In the meantime, FanDuel Sports Betting somehow made the Celtics even bigger favorites. They have -8,000 odds to win their series against the Heat, or an implied probability of 98.77 percent.
The fact that the Celtics are favored to win the series isn’t much of a surprise, even though the Heat won the Eastern Conference Finals last year between the two teams. Boston had the league’s best record during the regular season, winning 64 games. He also posted a five-point rating among the best in league history, winning all three games against Miami during the regular season.
On the other hand, the Heat enter the playoffs hobbled. Jimmy Butler will likely miss the first round series after suffering an MCL injury on Wednesday. They also won 18 fewer games than the Celtics during the regular season and had inconsistent play throughout the year.
Still, the fact that sportsbooks consider it almost certain that the Celtics will win the first-round series might surprise some. Boston was also a heavy betting favorite to win last year’s Eastern Conference finals, with -500 odds to beat eighth-seeded Miami.
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI) also doesn’t see the Celtics as heavy favorites to win this year’s game against the Heat compared to last year’s playoff battle. By participating in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, ESPN BPI infamously gave the Celtics a 97 percent chance of beating the Heat. They only have an 86.3 percent chance of beating the Heat this year, according to ESPN’s BPI.
The Celtics and Heat will renew their playoff rivalry for Game 1 on Sunday.
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