How to bet the Celtics-Heat heavyweight battle in the Eastern Conference Finals

The NBA playoffs have been absolutely impossible to predict from game to game. A team that gets blown out by 40 on one night might come back to win by 15 the next.

Despite that winding road, the East has landed a chalk series in the conference finals, with the top two seeds set to square off in what’s sure to be a heavyweight battle. Like the rest of the playoffs, I think each individual game between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat will be completely unpredictable, but in the end, the series favorite will ultimately prevail, and that’s the Celtics. They’re healthier right now, and I like their defense a little better because of how battle-tested it’s been in these playoffs.

There isn’t much value in picking Boston to advance at -170 odds on Tipico Sportsbook, so unless you like the top-seeded Heat at +135, the better play is picking how many games the series will go. After seeing the Milwaukee Bucks down an All-Star push Boston to seven games, I think that’s a good bet to happen again at +200 odds. Those odds improve if you pick a winner, with +500 on the Celtics to win in seven.

Prince’s Pick: Celtics win series 4-3 (+500)

All odds via Tipico