It’s a three-game night in the NBA Playoffs on a Tuesday and that means three more chances to load up a same game parlay, this time focusing on the Celtics’ Game 5 matchup with the Nets.
Make sure you check out our picks on the side and total for each of tonight’s game, with our experts boasting a 36-20 record since the start of the playoffs. But for now, it’s time to lock in on Boston vs. Brooklyn.
After a Game 1 under, we have seen three straight overs in the series with the winning team scoring a minimum of 125 points. At the current number, this would be the largest total since the opener. Both teams have been over teams for the season so that is where I am leaning. You want to think that Boston is going to ramp up their defense after getting torched for 141 points last game but they don’t really have great personnel to do a lot more defensively, especially with Williams out. I think this game will look a lot like the last three with the winning team scoring more than enough to get the over.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets.
Tatum is Boston’s lone offensive weapon in this series, especially with Kemba Walker being out. He’s scored 90 points over the past two games shooting 53.3 and 45.5 percent from the field and around 44 percent from three-point land. Even if he doesn’t shoot the ball well, we can still expect a high volume of attempts from him as Boston simply doesn’t have anyone else to turn to in this series. He has also shown he isn’t afraid of attacking the basket – in the first four games of the series he has averaged 11.3 free throws per game and has been hitting them at a 92.1 percent clip. If this is Boston’s final game of the season, expect Tatum to go out firing.
The Nets’ big three of Durant, Harden, and Irving have averaged 85.9 points per game so far in this series, with Durant leading the way with 34.8. Despite coming off an Achilles injury and missing a bunch of games during the regular season, he looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. His shooting averages after four games are 57.7 percent from the field, 64.2 percent from three-point land, and 91.7 percent from the charity stripe. Brooklyn hasn’t played much defense over their last two games allowing 126 and 126 points, I don’t see that number going down tonight either, so we can expect a close game and Durant should play big minutes if that’s the case.
Harris probably has the easiest job in the NBA. Opponents focus mostly on stopping the big three and Harris has taken full advantage of that. He led the NBA in three-point percentage during the regular season and has translated his form into the postseason as well. He’s at 53.6 percent over the first four games while attempting seven shots per game and making 3.8 of them. This being a closeout game I think the Nets will put a ton of points up on the board and Harris should get his portion of attempts — hopefully, he makes at least three of them.
Pickswise is the home of free NBA picks and predictions. Make sure to also check out our NBA parlays and NBA prop bets tabs for more expert picks.
