Favored Celtics In Unfamiliar Position Before Game 3 Vs. Heat

Betting on the Boston Celtics certainly is not the most relaxing way to win a buck. Far from it, actually, as some Green Teamers might consider this Green group the most maddening team to place a wager on in all of sports.

Nevertheless, though, the Celtics will enter Kaseya Center in South Beach on Sunday night as a 4-point road favorite against the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. It will mark the third time in as many games the Celtics have been viewed as the betting favorite, though they weren’t able to win straight up — never mind cover! — in either of their two contests at TD Garden.

Miami currently holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series making Sunday a must-win for the second-seeded C’s.

All told, it’s caused Boston to be in unfamiliar territory. According to Evan Abrams, media and research director for Action Network, the Celtics are just the third team since 2005 to be a road favorite while trailing the series 2-0.

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Other examples include when the Los Angeles Clippers were a 3-point favorite against the Dallas Mavericks in 2021 and when the Celtics were a 2.5-point favorite against Jimmy Butler’s Chicago Bulls in 2017.

If you’re a Celtics fan looking for a positive trend, well, it’s worth noting both of those two betting-favored teams won Game 3 by double digits. Boston won in Chicago by 17 points before ultimately coming back in the series.

Past trends aren’t a perfect indication of future results, though. And this edition of the Celtics certainly have made it more and more difficult to trust them on the betting sheet.

Tip off for Game 3 is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.