NBA Preview: May 19

Game two of the Eastern Conference Final will take place on Friday from Toronto Dominion Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. In game one of the best out of seven series on Wednesday, the Miami Heat came through with a 123-116 win over the Boston Celtics to take a one game to none series lead. Here is why I think Boston will rebound in the second game of the best of seven series.

Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics 8:30 PM ET

The Eastern Conference Finals have the potential of mirroring the Celtics’s second round playoff series with the Philadelphia 76ers. Back on May 1, Boston was upset 119-115 by Philadelphia, but came back to make the necessary defensive adjustments to win the second game of the series rather handily 121-87. Boston only scored six more points in game two than game one, but gave up an impressive 28 fewer points.

The Heat meanwhile are the second eighth seed left in the playoffs (and second in Florida) among the four major professional sports leagues in North America. They are joined by the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers, who beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Thursday in the sixth longest game in Stanley Cup Playoff history (12 seconds left in the fourth overtime). Matt Tkachuk was responsible for the overtime winner as the Panthers took the 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

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It will be interesting to see the impact the Panthers win on Thursday have on the Heat on Friday. My guess is there will not be much. The Celtics are 8.5 point favourites, and should cover the spread. With their ability to play stringent defense in key situations when the games matter, I like the under too at 215.5.

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