NBA Playoffs Tuesday Preview & Free Pick- Boston at Atlanta Game 2

The best-of-seven opening round matchup between the Boston Celtics and
the Atlanta Hawks resumes this Tuesday night with Atlanta favored by 6.5
points at home by BetAnySports.
The total line for Game 2 of this Eastern Conference clash has been set
at 205.5 and has risen slightly to 206. Tip-off from Philips Arena is
set for 7 P.M. (ET), and the game will be broadcast nationally on TNT.



The Celtics fell behind by 19 points in Saturday’ series opener and
while their frantic rally came up just one point short in a 102-101
loss, they easily covered as 5.5-point road underdogs with BetAnySports.
The total in that game stayed UNDER this 206-point closing line. Boston
is now just 1-3 straight-up in its last four games and it falls to a
costly 4-7 against the spread in its last 11 outings. The total has
stayed UNDER in nine of its last 13 games.



Isaiah Thomas ended Game 1 with a team-high 27 points and he remains the
Celtics’ top scoring threat after leading the team in scoring all
season long with 22.2 points per game. A big loss for Tuesday night and
possibly this entire series is Boston guard Avery Bradley. He left
Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury that appears to be serious in
nature. He was the team’s second leading scorer this season with 15.2
PPG.



The Hawks tied Boston in the regular season at 48-34 SU, but their 3-1
series win (both SU and ATS) help secure home-court advantage in this
playoff series as the fourth seed in the East. They closed things out
with four SU losses in their last seven games and after failing to cover
on Saturday they are a costly 2-7 ATS over their last nine outings. The
total has stayed UNDER in five of Atlanta’s last six games.



Jeff Teague (23 points and 12 assists) and Al Horford (24 points and 12
rebounds) deserve most of the credit for helping to preserve Saturday’s
win and Kent Bazemore added 24 points to the winning cause. The Hawks
were 12^th in the league in scoring this season with 102.8 PPG
and defensively they rose to sixth in points allowed (99.2). Over their
past four games, their scoring average stands at 103 points, but they
have given-up an average of 106.5 points to their opponents.



I had Boston covering BetAnySports’
spread in Game 1 and I like the Celtics’ chances to cover again on
Tuesday night despite the potential loss of Bradley. These two
conference foes appear destined to battle each other close for as long
as this series lasts.