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A Game 1 collapse from Golden State leads us all to question where this series is headed.
Obviously, Stephen Curry was a different animal in the first half with his impressive six 3-pointers made.
In the first quarter, the Warriors had an impressive 133.3 offensive rating. The Celtics immediately countered with a 28-22 winning second quarter, a 121.7 offensive rating (vs. 91.7 for the Warriors) and a lead at the half.
As usual, the Warriors dominated the third quarter, maybe a bet to look at pregame for the rest of the series. Then the Celtics smoked the Warriors out of the Chase Center with an unreal 40-16 run in the fourth quarter.
Celtics vs. Warriors Game 2 odds
Odds provided by BetMGM
Spread: BOS +4.5 (-110) vs. GSW -4.5 (-110)
Moneyline: BOS (+150) vs. GSW (-185)
Total: Over 215.5 (-110) | Under 215.5 (-110)
Celtics vs. Warriors Game 2 prediction
Colin Cowherd believes that the Warriors ran into bad luck with the Celtics’ big run coming in the fourth quarter. He said, “Let’s not overreact. Draymond Green was awful offensively, Jordan Poole was awful offensively and Andrew Wiggins was off. … The Celtics will never hit that many threes again.”
The point is well taken. However, the more physical team is the Boston Celtics. They are going to give the Warriors fits with their defense and potentially wear them down. How long Stephen Curry will be able to hold up over the long haul is difficult to say. Look for Marcus Smart’s defense to eventually give Curry problems.
Marcus Smart defending Stephen Curry Getty ImagesOverall, all of these games should be very competitive. If the Warriors had won Game 1, the Celtics would be the bet here. Unfortunately, that did not come to fruition and it makes backing a side tough. Instead, the spot to target is actually an individual quarter prop.
The Warriors absolutely dominate third quarters and for some reason, their spread is coming in at plus-money for that quarter. Caesars Sportsbook has the Warriors’ third quarter spread -1.5 at +105. This is the best market price and a spot to back the Warriors in a must-win game at home.
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Another solid spot is the over for that quarter which is on FanDuel Sportsbook at 54.5 points. This was easily over in Game 1 at 62 points and is another good spot tonight.
In the playoffs, these two teams have gone over in the third quarter in 20 of the 36 games they have played per Evanalytics.
Note: FanDuel is having an awesome NBA Finals Same-Game-Parlay contest for all users. The bettor who cashes the biggest parlay gets $30,000 in free bets. Right now the leader has a parlay of just +46492. Not insurmountable! (min $5 bet to qualify).
