With one more win on Monday, “2023 Boston Celtics” will be mentioned forever.
Whenever an NBA team goes down 0-3 in a series, this Celtics team will be brought up. They could be the first team to win a series after falling behind 0-3, after the first 150 NBA teams in that situation failed.
And with a loss on Monday, well, do you remember any of the teams that forced a Game 7 after being down 0-3 but lost?
Charles Barkley knew the stakes on the TNT set with Jaylen Brown after Game 6.
There’s pressure on the Celtics to finish the job in Game 7. That’s another reason it’s hard to figure out what to make of the point spread.
The Celtics are a 7.5-point favorite at BetMGM against the Miami Heat. It’s a heck of a game for Memorial Day.
The argument for the Celtics is this: They’re the better team, they had decisive wins in Games 4 and 5 and the Heat might have a hard time regrouping after a historic loss in Game 6. Boston’s Derrick White became just the second player in NBA history to hit a buzzer beater with his team facing elimination and trailing in the game. Michael Jordan is the other.
But the Heat have thrived off being the underdog all postseason. They already won two games in Boston to start the series. They came tenths of a second from a great comeback win in Game 6. They’re tough, well coached, capable of winning another game in Boston and they’re getting a lot of points for a Game 7 of a conference finals. They’ve covered four of six games this series already.
It has been an entertaining series with more to come. We could see some history made on Monday night.
Here’s a first look at the sports betting slate for Monday:
Stars look to force Game 7
There’s another potential 0-3 comeback happening in the NHL.
The Dallas Stars fell behind 0-3 in the Western Conference finals against the Vegas Golden Knights. Game 3 was an ugly blowout that included a hit that cost Stars captain Jamie Benn a two-game suspension. Dallas looked finished.
Not yet. Dallas won the fourth and fifth games, and now winning the series doesn’t seem so outrageous. The Stars are -130 favorites for Monday’s Game 6. There have been four comebacks from 0-3 down in NHL playoff history. So it’s not as unprecedented as the Celtics’ comeback in the NBA would be. But it would still be an impressive feat.
Memorial Day baseball
MLB is getting overshadowed a bit on Memorial Day, but a day of baseball is still a tradition for the holiday. There are 11 games, and while it still makes no sense why MLB wouldn’t schedule all 30 teams for Memorial Day, there’s still plenty of games on the schedule.
The best game of the day could be the last one. The New York Yankees travel to face the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners started this season slow but are heating up, and got a big walk-off home run winner on Sunday. The Mariners are a -135 favorite and this might be the time to start betting them.
What’s the best bet?
I’ll go with the Golden Knights to rebound after a disappointing loss in Game 5. They look good as a +110 underdog. The NBA game is tougher because it’s hard to say how the Heat will bounce back after losing the way they did in Game 6. I’ll go with the Heat and the points but not with much confidence. It’s possible Boston, seeing the history right in front of them, rolls to a win and the NBA Finals.
