With one more victory on Monday, “2023 Boston Celtics” will be mentioned forever.
Every time an NBA team is down 0-3 in a series, that Celtics team will be high. They could be the first team to win a series after falling 0-3, after the NBA’s top 150 teams failed in that situation.
And with a loss on Monday, well, do you remember any of the teams that forced a Game 7 after being down 0-3 but lost?
Charles Barkley knew the stakes of the TNT set with Jaylen Brown after Game 6.
There’s pressure on the Celtics to finish the job in Game 7. That’s another reason it’s unclear what to do with the point spread.
The Celtics are a 7.5 point favorite at BetMGM against the Miami Heat. It’s a hell of a game for Memorial Day.
The argument for the Celtics is this: they’re the better team, they’ve had decisive wins in Games 4 and 5, and the Heat may struggle to regroup after a historic loss in Game 6. Derrick White of Boston became just the second player in NBA history to hit a buzzer with his team facing elimination and falling behind in the game. Michael Jordan is the other.
But the Heat have thrived on being the underdog throughout the playoffs. They’ve already won two games in Boston to start the series. They came within tenths of a second of a great win in Game 6. They’re tough, well practiced, capable of winning another game in Boston, and they’re getting plenty of points for Game 7 of a conference final. They have already covered four of the six games in this series.
It’s been an entertaining series with more to come. We got to see some history made on Monday night.
Here’s a first look at the sports betting slate for Monday:
The stars are looking to force match 7
There is another potential 0-3 comeback in the NHL.
The Dallas Stars fell 0-3 in the Western Conference Finals against the Vegas Golden Knights. Game 3 was a nasty blowout that included a hit that cost Stars captain Jamie Benn a two-game suspension. Dallas looked finished.
Not yet. Dallas won games four and five, and now winning the series doesn’t seem so outrageous. The Stars are -130 favorites for Game 6 on Monday. There have been four 0-3 comebacks in NHL playoff history. So it’s not as unprecedented as the Celtics’ return to the NBA would be. But it would still be an impressive feat.
Memorial Day Baseball
MLB is a bit overshadowed on Memorial Day, but a day of baseball is still a holiday tradition. There are 11 games, and while it still doesn’t make sense why MLB wouldn’t schedule all 30 teams for Memorial Day, there are still plenty of games on the schedule.
The best match of the day could be the last. The New York Yankees travel to face the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners have started this season slow but are warming up and hitting a big home run on Sunday. The Mariners are a -135 favorite and now might be the time to start betting on them.
What is the best bet?
I’ll go with the Golden Knights to bounce back from a disappointing Game 5 loss. They look like a +110 underdog. The NBA game is tougher because it’s hard to say how the Heat will bounce back from losing like they did in Game 6. I’ll go with the Heat and the points but not with much confidence. It’s possible that Boston, seeing history right in front of them, will pick up a win and the NBA Finals.