On Tuesday night, the Miami Heat took a 2-0 advantage in their best of seven, semifinal series with the Boston Celtics.
On the Western Conference side of the bracket, the Thunder were able to even their series with the Memphis Grizzlies at one game a piece, after losing Game 1 on their home floor.
Both of these series will resume on Saturday, where the Celtics will try and avoid going down 0-3, and the Thunder and Grizzlies will battle for the 2-1 series advantage.
How do the odds makers see these game panning out? Let’s check out my predictions against the spread.
Heat at Celtics (-3)
So far, the Celtics have struggled to find any true rhythm against the Heat’s defense in the series, despite the first two games being competitive. The Celtics now find themselves in a 0-2 series deficit for the first time since Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett joined the team in 2007.
Allen, Pierce and Garnett look older than ever, and Rajon Rondo has failed to find the rhythm he had last postseason.
The Celtics will be in front of their home crowd for the first time this series, and the team is facing a must win situation. While the Celtics are somewhat banged up, with Rondo, Pierce and Allen all nursing minor injuries, none of them are major enough to keep their stars out of this crucial Game 3. Who knows, there could even be a Shaq sighting.
I look for the Celtics to come out in front of their rabid fans and get back in the series in Game 3. The Celtics are championship proven and too good to lose three games in a row to anyone. Despite having to give up three points, I will take the Celtics all day.
Pick: Celtics (-3)
Thunder at Grizzlies (-3)
After upsetting the San Antonio Spurs in the opening round, the Grizzlies continued their Cinderella story and knocked off the Thunder in Game 1 in Oklahoma City. In Game 2, the Thunder made the Grizzlies finally look like a number eight seed.
The Thunder led by as much as 21 in Game 2 and for the first time this postseason, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol looked very average.
On any note, the Grizzlies got the split they were looking for. The series now shifts to Memphis with the series tied at one game a piece.
Everyone knows Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are going to get theirs. However, will James Harden and Eric Maynor be able to play big on the road? Will the Thunder be able to keep Gasol and Randolph in check the way they did in Game 2?
The answers to those questions remain to be seen, but I will take the Thunder and the extra points.
Pick: Thunder (+3)
Joshua Sexton is a lifelong basketball fanatic, who watches as many games as possible. In addition, He has played and coached the game at the high school level. He has recently started writing about the game of basketball.
