Heat-Celts Game 1: Slam Bam on the over

Well, talk about nailing Game 1 out in Denver! The over flew by, and Nikola Jokic and LeBron James both poured on the points. We were one LeBron assist shy of the two stars both recording a triple-double; let's note that for Thursday. The Nuggets won, and now we turn to the Eastern Conference Finals, where the No. 8 Heat head to Boston to take on the No. 2 Celtics, the third time in the past four years that these two have met in the conference finals.

Seems like a close game coming between Heat-Celtics

Do we think Boston has the better players and wins this series? Yes, yes we do. Could Jayson Tatum keep up his hot streak and set the tone for what's to come? Most certainly.

Despite that belief, we still feel like eight points is a bit too much to spot Miami here in the opening game. The Heat are 8-3 ATS this postseason, the top mark in the NBA, and they've beaten Boston in each of the past two meetings.

We can understand this spread, however. If you think Boston is set to win, then eight points have typically been the difference, as they have yet to win a game this postseason by less than nine. Perhaps a sprinkle on the Heat's moneyline at +300 is the way to go, but we're rolling with the spread regardless.

Miami won Game 1 against Boston in both the 2022 and 2020 Eastern Conference Finals, and we'll wager they keep this one close as they continue surprising the NBA and betting public this postseason.

Betting: Miami +8 (-105 DK)

If you'd like to add a player prop to the menu tonight, might we recommend a Miami big? Bam Adebayo has had the Celtics' number in the past few meetings, averaging 25 points per game over the last five games. He's gone over this 17.5 total in all five of those games, and he's gone for 23+ in four of them. Adebayo ended the last round on a nice scoring run, finishing with point totals of 23, 18 and 23. He's been steady on the road, dropping 18+ in four of six away from Miami, so we'll be going to him this evening.

Betting: Bam Adebayo over 17.5 points (-122 FD)

In the news ...

PGA Championship tees off tomorrow — The Oak Hill East Course will be the home to the 2023 PGA Championship, which kicks off Thursday morning in Rochester, NY. The PGA Championship has not been held at this course for 10 years, and that year's winner, Jason Dufner, is not in this weekend's field. Scottie Scheffler (+700) and Jon Rahm (+750) are the two favorites, and we'd like to flag that DraftKings is offering a +300 boost to any outright pick. Based on what we've read about this course, it seems Scheffler may be worth a wager even as the favorite. Rahm won the Masters as one of the favorites, and we're fine to go to Scheffler here now. With the DK boost, we were able to get Scheffler at +1000.

Spurs wins NBA Draft lottery and the rights to Victor Wembanyama — In one of the most highly anticipated NBA Draft lotteries of the past decade, the San Antonio Spurs won the top overall selection, and with it, the right to draft Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama is a French forward/center, coming in at 7-foot-2. The allure of Wembanyama is his combination of size, handles and shooting ability, making him one of the most coveted prospects we've seen since LeBron James. If there was any doubt that someone else might go first, look no further than DraftKings' odds for the first overall pick, which have Wembanyama at -20000.

Pat McAfee leaves FanDuel for massive deal with ESPN — Just two years into his deal with FanDuel, Pat McAfee and "The Pat McAfee Show" gang are headed to ESPN. The former Colts punter has exploded over the past five years, and this new deal only further shines a light on the impressive run for both himself and his team. "The Pat McAfee Show" is expected to maintain a YouTube presence, but will also have a show on ESPN and ESPN+. The deal begins this fall.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll