Oddsmakers are all-in on the Celtics in the first round against the Heat.
At BetMGM Sportsbook, the Celtics are a ridiculous -5000 favorite to win the championship, and they are +1700 to beat the upset Heat.
According to Sports Odds History, Boston has been the biggest pre-series favorite since the Bucks defeated the Orlando Magic at -7500 in Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Playoffs.
Celtics vs. Heat Series Odds
| celtics odds | heat odds |
|---|---|
| -5000 | +1700 |
This will be the 12th NBA playoff series since at least 1988 with a favorite of -5,000 or below.
The favorites have won all 11 games in the series thus far, with only two of them being longer than five games.
Bookmakers also expect the Celtics to clean up quickly. Boston sweeps the series and is -110.
The Heat are one year away from shocking the Celtics with a huge upset in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.
However, they will be without their best player this time against Boston.
Heat superstar Jimmy Butler suffered a sprained right MCL during Wednesday’s play-in game against the 76ers and missed Friday’s elimination game against the Bulls, with Miami securing the No. 8 seed with a 112-91 win. did.
The six-time All-Star is expected to miss four weeks with the injury, which would even the Heat’s chances of making the playoffs.
On the other hand, Las Vegas is expecting Boston to make a strong jump in the playoffs.
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The Celtics are the biggest pre-postseason favorite to win the NBA Finals (+160) since the Golden State Warriors in 2019. The Warriors entered the playoffs at -178, won all games, and lost to the Raptors in the final round.
Boston’s odds to win the Eastern Conference are also -200, the lowest odds before Game 1 since LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers’ -210 in 2017.
The winner of this series will face the winner of the Cavs vs. Magic game in the second round of the postseason.
