In the NBA, every team has a rival or two. All bets are off when two teams with bad blood match up. The ill will between franchises generally spurs both sides to bring their best and lead to fantastic NBA betting opportunities.
Two teams that may come to mind when speaking of a rivalry may be the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Rich history translated over to modern-day players calls for epic battles between the two legendary franchises on the court. However, some rivalries, such as the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, have come together in recent years.
Celtics vs. Heat: All-Time Series Record
In 129 regular-season games, Boston has the advantage over Miami with 78 wins.
The Celtics are among the winningest professional teams in all sports. Each year, the fans in Boston expect nothing less than a deep playoff run. With 17 NBA championships under the franchise’s belt, who can blame them? Victory is considered the norm in Beantown, and defeating the Miami Heat makes winning even sweeter for fans of the Celtics.
The Heat were founded in 1988. Only three NBA championships have been won in their time in the league. Although there isn’t an abundance of banners in Miami as in cities like Boston or Los Angeles, the Heat have been more than successful. The culture in Miami is familiar with winning, and with good reason. The team has a record over.500 and has made 23 playoff appearances in 34 seasons. Two winning teams in the same conference tend to cross paths often. While the Heat franchise was a bit of a late comer in the NBA, it took no time to brew up a rivalry between the two clubs.
Each team will look to add to this record heading into the 2022 NBA season. With both franchises set up to make another run at a title, it’ll be no surprise if the rivalry strengthens. Following their seven-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals, last year won by Boston. The Heat will look to prove they are the better team while the Celtics look to defend their Eastern Conference crown.
At +200, the Celtics are favored to repeat while the Heat (+650) have the fourth-shortest odds to win the East.
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