NBA playoff preview and tips: Miami Heat at Boston Celtics - Game Seven
- George Dempsey
- 29 May 2023
Boston Celtics could become the first NBA team to come back from 0-3 in an NBA playoff series against Miami Heat at TD Garden on Memorial Day.
Boston left it late but they got the job done at Kaseya Center on Saturday night. The sporting world will be watching as the Celtics attempt to make NBA history.
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Has anyone come back from 3-0 in the NBA playoffs?
No. 149 teams had trailed 3-0 and none of them have come back to win an NBA playoff series. Boston Celtics are the 150th side to trail 3-0 and will attempt to make history in game seven on Memorial Day.
Dating back to the 1950s, only the New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz have clawed their way back from 0-3 in the NAB, but all of those sides lost the series 4-3.
All three previous attempts to come back from 0-3 in the NBA were made by teams playing game seven on the road. Boston hosts this game seven against Miami Heat at TD Garden.
Heat @ Celtics - Game Seven verdict
Boston Celtics play host to Miami Heat on a historic night in NBA. For the fourth time, a team will attempt to come back from 0-3 in an NBA playoff series.
The Celtics are a -7.5 favourite with SX.bet.
The 1942 Toronto Maple Leads. The 2004 Boston Red Sox. The 2014 Los Angeles Kings. What do these sporting institutes have in common? They overturned a 0-3 deficit in a playoff series.
Just four NHL teams and one MLB team have completed a historic comeback, but we're still waiting for it to happen in an NBA series.
In game six, Derrick White scored a buzzer-beater as Boston beat Miami 104-103. Tied at 3-3, Boston are the first side to attempt to overturn 0-3 at home, which is a distinct advantage.
Defence was on top in game six with the Heat shooting just 35.5% from the field and Boston dropping 43.6% of their shots.
Boston have won games on the back of their three-point shooting but that deserted them in Miami, making just seven of 35 attempts.
Instead, the most noticeable differences were the Celtics making six additional free throws and coming up with four more blocked shots in an elite defensive effort.
Boston have now held Miami to 103, 97 and 99 in the last three meetings and seem to have a firm grip on the series. The game seven total has plummeted to 203.5 with the defence expected to rule supreme.
We also have to factor in just how big an occasion this is. Even the likes of Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum may struggle to have their best shooting nights, with the winning team needing to grind this one out.
Tatum (31) and Jaylen Brown (26) led the scoring for Joe Mazzulla's side on Saturday, and they were well supported by Marcus Smart (21).
Jimmy Butler (24) and Caleb Martin (21) led the way for the Heat. Despite having 15 more shots than the Celtics, they still lost.
One of the big reasons for those extra possessions was Miami's ability to force more turnovers and win the battle on the offensive glass.
The Heat have forced nine more turnovers in this series. They need to impose their physical nature once again and show the defensive qualities they did in game six.
Their zone defence was able to force 11 straight missed field goals from the Celtics in a late rally. From Boston's point of view, their slowing of the pace has been successful. At home, they're a mean defence.
We suspect that the Boston Celtics are about to make NBA history. Despite that, this will be a battle til the end. We're going to use Planet Sport Bet's adjusted lines and
bet on under 206.5 points in game six.
