Players to watch in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals
Despite all the talk of parity hitting the NBA this postseason, the Heat and Celtics will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in four seasons. The two teams know each other, but in case you don't, here's a look at the likeliest contenders for Eastern Conference Finals MVP, according to Oddschecker.
Celtics guards Malcolm Brogdon, Derrick White and center Al Horford (+10000)
Among players who've played in all 13 of Boston's postseason games, Brogdon's net rating (11.4) is the best. He is fourth on the team this postseason with 14.8 points per game.
Horford is second on the team in net rating (9.5) and came up with multiple blocks against the 76ers.
White will try to recreate the magic formula he discovered in Round 1 when he scored 17.3 points per game on 55.7 percent shooting. In the conference semifinals, White averaged nine points while shooting 42 percent. After starting the first 11 games of the postseason, head coach Joe Mazzula moved White to the bench ahead of Game 6 against Philly and the team didn't look back, winning both must-win games.
Heat center Bam Adebayo (+6500)
Adebayo is one of two Heat players with odds listed for conference finals MVP, a sign of how much Miami depends on its two stars as well as the number of tertiary options capable of influencing individual games in the next round. One night Kyle Lowry could play lockdown defense, the next night Max Strus could get hot from deep. But Adebayo has been a constant, scoring in double figures in every game this postseason—the only Heat player to do so.
Celtics guard Marcus Smart (+4000)
Smart scored a series-high 22 points in Game 6 against Philly before taking a backseat to Jayson Tatum in Game 7. He will likely be overshadowed by Tatum and Jaylen Brown should the Celtics win, which makes him having shorter MVP odds than Adebayo a bit of a surprise.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (+550)
Brown averaged 22.9 points, shot 54.1 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from three against the 76ers while playing 37.7 minutes per game. He scored more than 20 points in six of the seven games. While not as valuable as Tatum at his best, Brown has been a consistent presence for a team that's had an up-and-down postseason.
Heat forward Jimmy Butler (+425)
Butler is a man on a mission.
He vowed to return to the ECF after last season's heartbreaking Game 7 loss and kept his word. Butler is Miami's best player and is going to need games as he had in the first round against Milwaukee in Round 1. In the upset series win, Butler averaged 37.6 points while shooting 59.7 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three.
He shot 11.1 percent from deep—and 43.2 percent overall—in the conference semifinals. The Heat's season is riding on Butler coming up big.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (-220)
Tatum's 51-point Game 7 masterpiece against the Sixers suggests he's a smart bet here, but it's worth noting how fast Tatum's fortune changed. In Games 2-6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Tatum averaged 22.6 points per game while shooting 37.9 percent from the field and 26.2 percent from three.
Perhaps something clicked with Tatum and the Celtics clicked against the 76ers, or maybe they benefited from playing perennial playoff disappointments Doc Rivers, James Harden and Joel Embiid. Miami pushed Boston to seven games in last year's conference finals and we could be in store for another long series. Tatum should be the favorite, but anyone with a financial stake might sweat a little before cashing out.
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