The Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics are set to clash in Game 2 of tonight’s Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup. The Bucks handed the Celtics their first loss of the postseason with relative ease in Game One, which leaves Boston needing a very important win tonight before heading to Milwaukee for games three and four.
Game 2 tips off tonight from TD Garden in Boston at 7 pm ET on TNT.
The Betting Angles:
Tonight’s line has the Celtics at -3.5 after opening at -4 on May 1. Boston is -200 to win outright. The Bucks are +3.5 as 63 percent of the public is on Milwaukee to cover. The Bucks are +170 to win outright.
Why Boston can win and cover -3.5:
Outside of their last game Boston has had a tremendous postseason. Jayson Tatum has shined in a superstar role, and the defense for the most part has been fantastic. Boston has had time to adjust to Milwaukee’s game plan without Khris Middleton in their lineup, so expect some sort of improvement to be made from Game 1.
The urgency to win has been turned up for Boston after losing Game 1 in the fashion they did. If the Celtics lose they head to Milwaukee down 2-0 in the series in a very tough hole to climb out of. The Bucks are a tough matchup, but Boston has proven to be the same. If the Celtics play the same type of team basketball behind Jayson Tatum tonight as they have all season they could even this series up at one game a piece.
Why Milwaukee can win and cover +3.5:
The Bucks are coming off a twelve point victory in Game 1, with that momentum still very much being on their side. The first game proved that Giannis Antetokounmpo is the most dominant player in the NBA, as he notched his second career postseason triple double. The Bucks defense was phenomenal, only allowing Boston to score 89 points on the night. The Bucks still have much of their championship team’s core from last season intact, which is a large reason why they have been so successful thus far in the postseason. If Giannis remains unstoppable like he was in Game One, the Bucks could see themselves with a 2-0 series lead heading back to Milwaukee
The Pick: Take Milwaukee +3.5
The Bucks have a very good chance to win this game outright. While Boston is sure to make some adjustments, a win by a large margin seems very unlikely tonight. The Greek Freak was un-guardable in their last outing, as his physical dominance and surprising shooting touch has been too much to handle for every team this postseason. Expect the Bucks to play an aggressive brand of defense tonight, led by Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday to at least keep this game close to the end, and perhaps even win it as well.
