Our top NBA betting pick for today comes from one of the top Eastern conference rivalries in recent years, as we have prepared the most accurate Heat at Celtics prediction for December 19, 2025. The game will be the second night of a back-to-back for the Heat, who played against the Nets in Brooklyn last night. Miami was able to win against the Nets in what was a low-scoring game by today’s standards – 106:95. Meanwhile, the Celtics have had 4 days of rest as they last played against the Pistons on Monday. The Cs lost that game 112:105, despite playing at home and having the lead at half-time.
The New Celtics Regime
Going into this 25/26 season, everyone was thinking that the Boston Celtics will spiral into a free fall. Jason Tatum ruptured his achilles, so he is out of the whole season. Jrue Holiday, one of the best true point guards in the NBA, proven vet, and an excellent defender, was shipped to Portland. And Krtiztaps Porzingis signed with the Hawks. As you probably know, ownership changed. In August, 2025, the Boston Celtics were sold to a private equity investor Bill Chisholm for a record $6.1 billion.
The new ownership came with the idea to clean the house, minimize the expenses and maximize the profit. That’s why it was decided not to keep Jrue and Kristaps as they had to pay them top dollar. The injury to Tatum might have contributed to that decision. The new Celtics regime probably realized that they had no chance to compete for the title this year without their best player, so why go over the salary cap in the first place?
So the Celtics started this season without the usual expectations to compete for the chip. In fact, a lot of experts were predicting all doom and gloom. In reality, however, they haven’t been as bad as expected. In fact, the Celtics are currently ranked 4th in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 15 Wins and 11 Losses.
There is something about that Celtics tradition, the training staff, and perhaps the home crowd, that makes them play really hard. They are giving themselves a chance every night. The Celtics are rarely out-hustled and outplayed. The Celtics might not have the best roster in the league, but they certainly have something that a lot of teams are missing. And that’s grit, heart and soul and that evergreen Celtic pride. One really has to account for that when trying to make a winning NBA bet on the Celtics.
Classic Heat Culture With a Modern Twist
Ever since Pat Riley took over the Miami Heat in the early 90s, they’ve been all about the grid and grind. The Heat Culture is about playing hard, leaving it all on the floor, military style workouts, minimum body fat. But that contributes to winning. Yes, the Heat have been circling around those Play In spots in recent years, but they have developed some great young players and I think they are just one or two star players away from being true contenders.
The Heat player development program has done some amazing things in recent years. Tyler Herro has turned into an All Star caliber player. He just needs to stay injury free. Jaime Jaques has been increasing his production, and he is now in the conversation for Most Improved Player of the year, although that will go to Danny Avdija from Portland. The young and super athletic Center Kel’el Ware has been an absolute revelation.
What’s been interesting about the Heat this year is that they have shifted their focus from defense into offense. Miami has been in the top five in scoring average this season with 120.2 PPG. They are also 5th in the league in rebounding with 45.6 RPG, which is a testament to their hustle. The Heat are also 5th in the league in Assists Per Game (APG) with 28.9, showing their team ball. They are third in the league in fast break points as they are a young team that likes to run and pick up the pace.
All in all, the Heat are also a team like the Celtics, that gives themselves a chance to win every night. They can beat anyone in the NBA.
NBA Betting Pick: We are going for the surprise here and my money is on the Heat to beat the Celtics. Miami is a huge underdog in this game, and the odds for them to win on Money Line are 3.00!
