Celtics-Heat Part Deux in South Beach

[Betfair]

Professional sports handicapper Jeff Mattingly previews the second meeting of Eastern Conference rivals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat at the American Airlines Arena.

Boston dropped a 89-87 road decision to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night after coming back from a 14-point deficit in its fifth game in seven nights. "We pretty much got the shots we wanted," said head coach Doc Rivers. "They just didn't go in. Everything was short-armed and short-rimmed." The Celtics offense has managed to top the 100-point scoring barrier four times this season, winning each of those games, but that will be very tough to reach considering they managed 88 points in a season-opening victory over the Heat. The team already has a lengthy injury report with Kendrick Perkins, while Shaquille O'Neal and Jermaine O'Neal are listed as day-to-day. Boston is 3-0 ATS as an underdog this year.

The Celtics are led offensively by forward Paul Pierce's 19.6 points per game and point guard Rajon Rondo dishing out 14.8 assists. Pierce was happy with Rondo stepping up to attempt a big shot at the end of the Dallas game, as team's often leave him open outside the arc. "I love the shot he took, I told him after the game," he commented. "I'll take that shot from him every time." In the first meeting of the season, the former Kentucky Wildcats' point guard delivered a game-high 17 assists, as the squad had 25 assists on 32 field goals on the night.

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Celtics-Heat Part Deux in South Beach : Basketball : Betfair.net