Boston Celtics at Golden State Warriors Game 2 Betting Preview
NBA players are creatures of habit, and perhaps having a week off in between games was detrimental to the Golden State Warriors, who are down 0-1 in the Finals after Thursday’s 120-108 loss. Then again, maybe the Boston Celtics are that good.
The Celtics were very impressive in the series opener, especially coming off consecutive 7-game series against the Bucks and Heat. Despite Boston’s Game 1, the consensus is that the Warriors even things up here, and they are indeed -4 point favorites.
Road is No Foe for Celtics
Pardon the pun, but the Celtics have been real road ‘warriors’ this postseason. They swept the Nets in Brooklyn, took two in Milwaukee, handed the Heat their only three home losses of the playoffs, and now have pushed Golden State’s record to 9-1 at the Chase Center this postseason after Thursday’s win.
The Celtics are now 8-2 in 10 road games this postseason, giving them some value as +4 underdogs on Sunday night. Boston was down 92-80 in hostile territory going into the fourth quarter in Game 1 but outscored Golden State 40-16 in the final 12 minutes.
Balance was the key for Boston in Game 1, with Al Horford and Derrick White combining for four straight huge three-pointers and going for 47 points. Before the series began, it was supposed to be the Warriors’ depth that was to their advantage.
Golden State Tries to Regroup
Are the Warriors back in the swing of things now that they have an NBA Finals game under their belt? The experience of being in the NBA Finals in five of the previous seven seasons (with largely the same core of players) was supposed to carry Golden State in Game 1, so where do they go from here?
Golden State’s focus in Game 1 was stopping Jayson Tatum, and they did so, holding him to 12 points. The problem is that Jaylen Brown had 24, Marcus Smart 18, while Horford and White were devastating, especially in the fourth quarter.
Steph Curry did have 34 points in his return to the Finals, while Andrew Wiggins added 20. Klay Thompson had 32 points in the closeout game against Dallas but had just 15 on Thursday night.
Celtics at Warriors Pick and Prediction
Golden State knows they need more out of Thompson as well as Draymond Green (four points) and Jordan Poole (nine points), but the big question is will they get it.
Boston did a great job of surviving huge games from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jimmy Butler in the last two rounds, so the Warriors are going to need more than just a huge outing from Curry.
The Celtics haven’t managed more than a split when the semifinals and conference finals shifted to Milwaukee and Miami for two games, respectively. They have won four straight road tilts in Golden State, but was stealing home court enough for Boston here?
Putting on the tin foil hat, the NBA wants to extend this series between one of its most storied franchises in Boston and its biggest stars in Curry. Golden State gets back on track here.
Pick: Golden State -4
