NBA Best Bets Today (Predictions for Derrick White, Celtics-Heat Game 7 in Eastern Conference Finals)
By Peter Dewey
One game with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line? Oh baby, it doesn’t get any better than this.
The Boston Celtics squandered Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Boston, and now they’ll look to steal Game 7 in Miami against the Heat.
The Heat survived after a monster performance from Jimmy Butler in Game 6, but can we trust them in Game 7?
Here are my two best bets for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals:
All odds via WynnBET Sportsbook:
NBA Best Bets Record to Date
- NBA Best Bets Record: 253-2232-6 (+8.7778 units)
Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record in the NBA this season here.
NBA Best Bets Today
- Boston Celtics Moneyline vs. Miami Heat (-145)
- Derrick White OVER 8.5 Points (-125)
Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat: Celtics Moneyline (-145)
I know, I know, I could lay the three points with Boston, but I’m not going to even risk it in this spot.
The Celtics are the better team, as I discussed on today’s episode of the Bet & Breakfast podcast, and they have dominated Miami in all of their wins in this series.
The Heat needed Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry to play their best games of the playoffs to save the season in Game 6, and I just don’t know if that happens again on Sunday night.
The Celtics are also undefeated following a loss in the NBA playoffs. As long as Boston avoids turning the ball over to lead to easy Miami points, I don’t trust the Heat offensively to outscore a team led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Derrick White OVER 8.5 Points (-125)
Derrick White has been on fire since Game 4, and he’s done it by being more aggressive.
Derrick White said this morning we wanted to play more aggressive. That strategy obviously worked out.
— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) May 24, 2022
“If I was going to fail, I was going to do it more aggressively” pic.twitter.com/zptFm1kTp7
White took just four shots in Game 1 and two shots in Game 3, but since then he has taken 14, eight and 14 shots in the last three games. Over that three-game stretch, White has scored 22, 14 and 13 points.
If you look at White’s playoff game logs, he’s scored nine or more points in nine of his last 13 games, and if he continues to see an uptick in usage, he’s going to clear this line easily.
The total for this game is really low, as most NBA Game 7s are, but White should see around 30 minutes since the Celtics play such a short rotation as it is.
Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record in the NBA this season here.