The Daily Sweat: Heat try to bounce back after rough Game 4 vs. Celtics

If you were settling in to watch a competitive Game 4 between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat on Monday night, you probably were finding something else to do by the second quarter.

The Heat missed its first 14 shots and were down 29-11 by the end of the first quarter. Game over.

The series is tied and the Heat will try to rebound on their home court in Game 5 on Wednesday. The Celtics are a 1.5-point favorite at BetMGM. This is the first time the Celtics have been a road favorite in the series.

The series has gone back and forth in all four games. The Heat won Game 1, the Celtics bounced back for a big Game 2 win, the Heat blew out the Celtics in Game 3 and Boston returned the favor in Game 4. The average winning margin in the series is 15.5 points.

While it seems like the Heat's turn to win and cover, there's a reason the Celtics are favored. Miami is dealing with a lot of injuries. Tyler Herro missed Game 4 with a groin injury and while he's listed as questionable for Wednesday, it seems unlikely he'd play. If he does play, he might be less than 100 percent. While Jimmy Butler is off the injury report, five Heat players including Herro are questionable.

The Heat are a very good team, but so are the Celtics and it's going to be hard for Miami to advance when half of their rotation is hobbling around. Perhaps the Heat can keep it close, because a competitive game in the Eastern Conference Finals would be nice.

Here's a first look at the sports betting slate for Wednesday:

Avalanche can advance

The St. Louis Blues have given the Colorado Avalanche, the Stanley Cup favorites, a good run in a second-round series. But in Game 4, a flurry of goals in the second period by the Avs turned that game and probably the series. The Avs lead the series 3-1 after that Game 4 win and are on the verge of closing out the Blues. They're -250 favorites for Game 4.

If you want to take the Avs to finish the series, perhaps the puck line (-1.5 at +105 odds) is the way to go. The series has been close but the Avalanche are going to want to finish it at home on Wednesday night.

MLB has 13 games

It's Wednesday, which means some afternoon baseball. MLB has six afternoon games. The New York Mets and San Francisco Giants continue their series after a wild game Tuesday that ended with a 13-12 Giants walk-off win. The Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres finish their three-game series after splitting the first two. The Padres are -125 favorites.

In the evening we get a showdown between NL East teams trying to get hot this season, as the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies square off. The Braves are -185 favorites.

What's the best bet?

It's hard to go against the Heat, who have had such a great season, and zig-zag betting says to take them after the Celtics won and covered in Game 4. But it feels like Miami is too banged up at this point in the series to beat a very good Boston team. The Celtics seem like the right side.