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Morning Coffee: Celtics open as favourite in Game 6
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No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series.
The Boston Celtics believe they will be the first to do it.
Based on what we witnessed last night, it really shouldn’t surprise anyone if they go on to pull it off.
The Celtics cruised to a 110-97 win over the Miami Heat as an 8.5-point favourite in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Boston became just the 15th team to force a Game 6 after trailing 3-0 in an NBA playoff series.
With the victory, the Celtics improved to 4-0 straight up and against the spread when facing elimination this postseason.
Boston to win the series have gone from +800 to +210 to +110 at FanDuel over four days.
Meanwhile, the traders at FanDuel have made a pretty significant adjustment to their NBA championship odds.
Following last night’s win, the Celtics now have shorter odds to win the title than the Heat as the series shifts back to Miami for Game 6.
This is the Morning Coffee for Friday, May 26, 2023.
Celtics open as favourite to win Game 6
The Celtics were 15-to-1 to win the NBA championship at FanDuel at the start of the week.
After consecutive double-digit wins to cut their series deficit to 3-2, Boston is down to +290 to win the title at FanDuel this morning. Miami is currently +600 to win it all.
Derrick White led the Celtics with 24 points in last night’s win, going 6-of-8 from beyond the arc.
Boston’s starting lineup outscored Miami by 13 points in just 16 minutes together.
Next up, the Celtics will look to become just the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after trailing 3-0.
While none of the previous three went on to advance, none of the previous three had home-court advantage for Game 7.
That’s something Boston would have in this scenario.
How important is Game 6 for Miami?
The Heat are 4-0 all-time in Game 6 at home when they have a 3-2 series lead.
However, it’s the Celtics that opened as a three-point favourite for Saturday night’s game at FanDuel.
Stars avoid sweep with overtime win
The Dallas Stars avoided a four-game sweep with a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals last night.
Joe Pavelski scored the winner as the Stars handed the Golden Knights their first loss of the playoffs when they were tied or leading after two periods.
Vegas opened -142 to win Game 5 on home ice and is still -1000 to win the series at FanDuel this morning. Dallas is +118 to win Game 5 and +750 to win the series.
It might be worth keeping an eye on the under for Game 5 on Saturday night.
After a high-scoring opener, the under is 3-0 in the past three games of the series, and 6-2 overall so far in the conference final games.
A FanDuel Best Bet for Friday night
A blowout in Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals was not what we needed.
Caleb Martin and Marcus Smart hit the over on their points props with ease, but Max Strus scored just three points in 24 minutes before sitting for the fourth quarter.
After a 6-0 sweep last week, we need a win today in order to finish this week above .500.
So, let’s lock in a winner.
We won’t have to wait long for a result.
Hunter Greene gets the start for the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon opposite Justin Steele for the Chicago Cubs.
Greene has a 9-1 NRFI record this season. He has a great chance to lock in another NRFI this afternoon against an opponent that ranks 23rd in the majors in average runs scored in the first inning this season in the Cubs.
Meanwhile, the Reds have been the more productive first-inning team, but their home/road splits are significant.
At home, Cincinnati has averaged 0.96 runs in the first inning this season. On the road, the Reds have averaged just 0.18.
Cubs’ starter Justin Steele has an 8-2 NRFI record this season.
Hopefully, Greene and Steele can get us the six outs we need to cash another FanDuel Best Bet winner heading.
Good luck to anyone who tails! Have a great weekend.