Filip Tomic
NBA
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After the Boston Celtics pulled off a shocking win in the series opener, it is now time to see if the Golden State Warriors can respond in Game 2 before the series shifts to Boston for the next 2 games. Tip-off is set for 8:00 pm ET Sunday on ABC, and I’ve also prepared same game parlay which is available below.
Let’s get into in!
Golden State Warriors over 109.5 total points (-114)
Marcus Smart over 2.5 made threes (+106)
Jayson Tatum to score 30+ points (+164)
Parlay odds: +827
Golden State Warriors over 109.5 total points (-114)
Everything was going well for the Warriors until the final 12 minutes. They were leading 92-80 at the end of the 3rd quarter and it looked like they were going to cruise the rest of the way. But then a major collapse happened in the 4th as they were outscored 40-16, finishing the game with just 108 points, 2 shy of the total I’m backing them to surpass on Sunday.
There are multiple reasons why I like this bet – the biggest one is the fact that they are the highest-scoring team in these playoffs, averaging 114.1 points per game and in their last 7 outings they’ve scored over 109.5 in 4 games. This Boston defense isn’t easy to score on, as we’ve seen so many times during this postseason, however the faster style of play by the Warriors should help them. They had 4 players score in double-digits in the opener, and I’m looking for Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole to increase their production in Game 2. Back the Warriors to score at least 110.
Be sure to check out our full Game 2 preview for Boston Celtics vs Golden State Warriors
Marcus Smart over 2.5 made threes (+106)
Marcus Smart had an excellent Game 1, scoring 18 points for the Celtics on 7-for-11 shooting from the field while nailing 4 of his 7 3-point attempts. That’s in line with what he has been averaging against the Warriors all season – in 2 regular-season meetings he was scoring 19.5 points per game against them and Golden State looks to be confused about who to put on him, as the Celtics have so many weapons on offense that draw attention.
Smart picks his spots on offense very well against this team, over the last 6 games against Golden State he has scored on 23 of his 50 3-point attempts, which is an incredible 46%. In 5 of those 6 games he connected on at least 3 threes, so I am feeling extremely good about this bet. The fact that he is bigger than Steph Curry really helps him, I hope he can take advantage of that in Game 2 once again.
Jayson Tatum to score 30+ points (+164)
It wasn’t the best of games in Game 1 for Tatum shooting-wise as he finished just 3-for-17 from the field and made only 1 of 5 shots from deep. That was a bit surprising considering he had 30 in 2 of his 4 games prior to that and is averaging 26.2 per game during this postseason. He did finish with 13 assists though, breaking the NBA record for most assists in an NBA Finals debut. I highly doubt he will shoot 17% again in Game 2, a player of his caliber is expected to carry his team offensively.
So far in these playoffs he has scored under 20 points 3 times and on all 3 occasions he has bounced back with at least 30 points in the next game. Granted, these Warriors are way better than any team he’s faced so far in this postseason so scoring might be difficult, but I have full faith in him delivering. In his last 4 games against Golden State prior to Game 1 he had 26, 27, 44 and 27 points. Let’s hope he bounces back in this one.
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