The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics have had their fair share of battles in the Eastern Conference over the last few seasons, including a first-round playoff matchup in the 2023-24 season.

Now, both teams will play the second night of a back-to-back on Monday night in one of the better matchups on a short NBA slate.

So, how should we bet on it?

Obviously, bettors could take a side or total, but my personal favorite way to bet on the NBA is in the player prop market.

With Jimmy Butler, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis out in this matchup, there’s a lot of different ways to go in the prop market. 

Let’s break down the plays for this Eastern Conference clash. 

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Bam Adebayo OVER 10.5 Rebounds (-115)

Fresh off of a 20-rebound game on Sunday night, Bam Adebayo gets a crack at a Boston team that is down Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis in the frontcourt on Monday.

Bam comes into this game averaging 9.9 rebounds per game, but he has at least 10 in 11 of his 18 games this season. Now, he’ll get to deal with Neemias Queta, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Luke Kornet primarily down low, a great matchup for one of the best centers in the game.

Boston is also just 16th in opponent rebounds per game this season, so this was already a favorable matchup before Boston’s two best bigs were ruled out. 

Jayson Tatum OVER 3.5 3-Pointers Made (-142)

While he’s listed as questionable for this matchup, Jayson Tatum could be in line for a big game against the Heat. 

Tatum is shooting 38.1 percent from beyond the arc this season, and he has a favorable matchup against a Miami team that ranks 20th in opponent 3-pointers made per game and 15th in opponent 3-point percentage. 

Tatum has four or more made 3-pointers in 13 of his 20 games this season, averaging 4.0 makes on 10.5 attempts per night. 

With Boston likely shorthanded tonight, I expect Tatum to hold a bigger role on offense.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.