NBA Betting Tips: Heat aiming to keep Celtics in check

The play-offs are well and truly underway, and our NBA betting tips for Wednesday focus on the Eastern Conference match-up between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, as well as the Western Conference first-round clash featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans.

Miami Heat +14.5 vs Boston Celtics @ 10/11

The visiting Miami Heat will attempt to pull level against Boston when the teams meet in game two of their first-round series. Jayson Tatum collected 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the top-seeded Celtics to a 114-94 victory in game one on Sunday.

Miami's issues in the opening encounter came when trying to defend the three-point line, as Boston made 22 of their 49 attempts from beyond the arc on Sunday, and Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White and Sam Hauser each made four three-pointers.

Jimmy Butler continues to be a huge absence for Miami and other members of this roster such as Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro will need to step up to give the Heat a chance in this series.

However, I'd be very surprised if the Heat get blown out once again tonight, as head coach Erik Spoelstra is renowned for making defensive adjustments, which is why I'm taking them on the point spread.

Ultimately, I think the Celtics win the game, but +14.5 on the spread is too big for them to cover in my opinion, as tonight's match won't be as straightforward.

New Orleans Pelicans +7.5 vs Oklahoma City Thunder @ 10/11

Game two in the Western Conference first-round play-off series between the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder should be a cracker, and it will be broadcast live in the UK on TNT Sports 1 (02:30 Thursday morning).

Game one between the Pelicans and Thunder proved to be a closely-fought contest in which the latter prevailed by the skin of their teeth, in a 94-92 win.

The Thunder are looking to grab a 2-0 lead in a play-off series for the first time since a 2013 first-round series against the Houston Rockets when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were leading the charge.

Both sides struggled on the offensive end on Sunday, but I don't anticipate either side being that bad again on Wednesday night. Zion Williamson will be absent for New Orleans, which is a huge loss, and the star forward has missed the last two games with a hamstring strain, though a play-off return remains possible later down the line.

I believe that the Thunder have the best player on the court in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, which should lead to a OKC victory on the money line, but in terms of the spread, I'm backing the Pelicans.

New Orleans can keep the contest close and cover, while the Thunder's star quality will get them over the line in terms of the result.

Check out the rest of our NBA Betting Tips here.