Basketball Betting – Banged Up Celtics Head Home for Game 3. The Boston Celtics have a few days off before Saturday’s Game 3 in basketball betting and they need the rest.Three Boston starters were banged up in the Game 2 loss to Miami but all should be ready for Saturday. The Celtics are 3-point favorites in NBA basketball betting at Sbg global on Saturday against the Heat.
Boston Injuries
Three Boston starters were dealing with injuries on Tuesday. Paul Pierce suffered a strained left Achilles; Ray Allen was dealing with a bruised chest while Rajon Rondo had a tight back. Two of the three didn’t play very well with their injuries. Pierce had 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Allen was even worse with just seven points on 2 of 7 shooting. Rondo did have 20 points on 7 of 16 shooting with 12 assists and six rebounds.
Celtics miss Perkins
Boston is down two games to none against the Miami Heat in NBA basketball betting. Perhaps the Celtics would have lost the first two games even if they had Kendrick Perkins but maybe not. Jeff Green may be a nice player but he can’t guard anyone and now Perkins is playing a role with Oklahoma City and giving them toughness. There are reports out that Perkins pushed Kevin Durant for a players-only meeting after they lost Game 1 to Memphis to analyze what went wrong. The meeting worked as Oklahoma City dominated the Grizzlies in Game 2. Durant is giving all the credit to Perkins. The Celtics have struggled without Perkins as they miss his leadership, his energy and his defense. Maybe they can get Shaquille O’Neal back into the lineup but even if Shaq returns it seems unlikely he can provide what Perkins did.
Three Day Break
The NBA playoff schedule is almost always screwed up and it is again in this basketball betting series as the Heat and Celtics will have three days off before playing again. Game 2 was on Tuesday but the NBA pushed Game 3 to Saturday even though no other playoff games are scheduled for Thursday. The league could have had the Heat and Celtics as the only game on Thursday night but instead both Miami and Boston will sit in Boston and wait for Game 3.