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The Boston Celtics will once again be defending their homecourt tonight as the Miami Heat remain in town. They were not successful in doing that in the first game of the series. A similar outcome tonight would see the Celtics traveling to Miami facing a massive 2-0 deficit. If they are to avoid such a fate, they will need one of their wings to step up and match Jimmy Butler. Check out my first-basket scorer pick for Heat vs Celtics below and you can also read our NBA predictions for picks on the sides and total.
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Heat vs Celtics first basket best bet: Robert Williams III (+1100)
There is not much of a sample size to distinguish Bam Adebayo and Robert Williams III when jumping for opening tip this season. They have jumped for opening tip against each other twice this season. In the first game, Williams III got called for a jumping violation. In Game 2, he was able to win the Celtics the opening possession. I am backing him to do so once more tonight. Adebayo has gained the Heat the first possession in just 4 of the last 10 games. While the Celtics have done so the same number of times during that stretch, they have only recently moved Williams III into their starting lineup. With his recent success over Adebayo, look for him to start building a winning streak against his opponent tonight.
Williams III should be a great contender to open the scoring tonight too. While he has been limited by injuries this season, he has now started 22 games for the Celtics. He has opened the scoring for them an impressive 8 times during that stretch. With Marcus Smart being in a passing mood in Game 1, recording 11 assists, the Celtics center should have a capable facilitator of getting him the ball close to the rim. He is more than a capable offensive rebounder too. He ranked in the top 15 in the league this season in offensive rebounds per game with only one other player in that list averaging fewer minutes. It should give him another potential avenue to open the scoring here. He looks a good value selection tonight.
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