Celtics Still Remain Favorite Despite 0-2 Series Deficit Vs. Heat

The Boston Celtics are in dire need of a confidence boost.

They watched Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat steal home-court advantage from the palm of their hands, losing back-to-back contests to begin their Eastern Conference finals battle, putting Boston in an 0-2 deficit and making Game 3 a must-win situation.

In the fourth quarter of Boston’s Game 2 loss, Jayson Tatum was a no-show. As was Jaylen Brown and Joe Mazzulla, putting the C’s in the toughest spot they’ve been in all season long.

Needless to say, the pressure is on, right?

Well, it doesn’t seem as though the odds are changing despite two straight losses at TD Garden for the Celtics. In fact, Boston remains the favorite with a 65% chance to still take the series and punch its ticket to the NBA Finals, according to ESPN Analytics.

The oddsmakers over at DraftKings Sportsbook say otherwise, as Miami has -170 odds to advance to the NBA Finals while Boston slipped to +145.

While the odds continue to portray the Heat as the underdog, which is understandable, Games 1 and 2 have told a different story.

Ever since Miami dropped their first play-in tournament matchup to the Atlanta Hawks, the Heat have been on a roll. They’ve won every series-opening game, have yet to lose on their home floor and pose the biggest challenge to Mazzulla and the Celtics despite having finished the regular season as the No. 8 seed in the East. So counting them out isn’t anything new.

Boston’s inability to back up its hype and off-court talk has haunted the Celtics on several occasions throughout the season, but with the season on the line, the Heat have a shot at delivering the ultimate blow in Game 3 on Sunday night.