Boston Dominates! High-Reward Parlay for Celtics-Pacers Game 2

I will stick to our winning strategy and construct our best parlay today using a combo of NBA game picks and a player prop. After meticulously reviewing all the odds, I have assembled a three-leg parlay.

RIVETING ending to Game 1 of Pacers-Celtics…

▪️ Jaylen Brown hits the game-tying 3 to force OT
▪️ Mike Breen gives us the iconic “Double Bang”
▪️ Jayson Tatum scores 10 PTS in OT

Boston comes away with the 133-128 victory!#NBAConferenceFinals presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/eBrViTJq5p

— NBA (@NBA) May 22, 2024

Best Celtics vs Pacers Game 2 Bets

Boston Celtics First Half -5 vs Indiana Pacers

The Boston Celtics inexplicably dropped two home playoff games, both in Game 2s this postseason against the Heat and Cavaliers, but they took care of business in both opening Game 1s in those series. They defeated Miami by a 20-point margin in Game 1 and Cleveland by a 25-point margin in Game 1. The Pacers blitzed Boston in Game 1, and the Celtics escaped with a narrow victory with a 5-point win in overtime. I’m trusting Boston to come out tonight on a mission to make a statement early!

This is a classic fade spot for me in the NBA playoffs. I love going against a team that just played a grueling overtime game on the road and lost. Not only are the Celtics the much better team in this series, but they are also riding the wave of a win. History tells us the Celtics should roll in this series. Over the last 13 instances, teams who played in a Game 7 playing a team that wasn’t also in a Game 7 have gone just 2-11 in the conference finals. The Pacers rode the momentum of their Game 7 win against the Knicks on Tuesday night, but they will run out of gas quickly against this Boston team in Game 2.

The Pacers have gone 24-25 ATS in the first half on the road this season, while Boston is 29-19 ATS at home in the first half, including the playoffs. Home teams victorious in Game 1 have gone 10-1 in Game 2 in the last 11 instances in the conference finals.

“Up 1-0, lot of work to do…”

D-White and JB walk off after the @celtics improbable comeback win in Game 1 🗣️

Game 2: Thursday, 8:00pm/et on ESPN pic.twitter.com/XADJBKlB10

— NBA (@NBA) May 22, 2024

Boston Celtics -9 vs Indiana Pacers

The Celtics might be hard to trust for many of you, but as the favorite in NBA title odds all season long, I’m not willing to fade them. Instead, I’m laying the wood with them as 9-point favorites. This Celtics squad was nearly stunned in Game 1 by Indiana. I expect Boston to bounce back and roll in this series just as they did in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Indiana Pacers delivered their best punch in Game 1, and it may have taken a miracle for Boston, but they got the job done. I don’t see the Pacers stealing a game on the road in this series.

Teams that have played fewer games in the first two rounds have gone an incredible 17-1 in the conference finals over the last 18 instances. At this point in the postseason, the more rested team has an advantage.

Over the last ten seasons, favorites of five points or more in the conference finals have gone 38-30-1 ATS. The Celtics had a historic regular season, going an NBA-best 37-4 at home. Their lone home loss against an Eastern Conference opponent came against a red-hot Knicks team in early April. One-seeds have been strong ATS as favorites of 6½ points or more, going 17-11 ATS in the conference finals. Over the previous nine seasons, teams coming off a loss of 10 points or fewer and are playing on the road have gone just 6-10 ATS in the following game in the conference finals. Meanwhile, top-seeded teams like the Celtics have gone 10-5 ATS following a win by 9 points or less in the conference finals!

Celtics SF Jayson Tatum to Record a Double-Double

Our third and final leg will be Jayson Tatum, to finish with a double-double in Game 2. We have trusted Tatum throughout the playoffs thus far, and he keeps delivering. Tatum has stepped up his rebounding this season and finished with double-digit rebounds in four of five games against the Miami Heat in Round 1. He had a double-double in four of five games in the second-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tatum has recorded a double-double in all nine playoff wins to this point. His only misses came in Boston’s two playoff losses.

Tatum recorded double-doubles in three of four meetings against the Pacers in the regular season. In the playoffs, Tatum is leading the Celtics with 15.1 rebound chances per game; the next closest Celtics are Jaylen Brown, with just 11.1 rebound chances, and Al Horford, with 11.7 chances. Tatum finished with 12 rebounds and had 11 boards before overtime in Game 1.

He has a double-double in 10 of his last 18 games without Kristaps Porzingis. The Celtics have announced Porzingis will miss Game 2 of this series with Indiana after he suffered a calf injury back in the First Round series against the Heat. Porzingis could return as soon as Game 4. The Pacers allowed the fourth-most rebounds per game to opposing small forwards during the regular season. This line is juiced, but I’m all over it as a parlay leg. Trust Tatum to continue to lead his team on a path to the Finals.

.@LegsESPN believes Jayson Tatum is “better than we give him credit for.”

Agree? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Bu0RegBiae

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 23, 2024

Questions of the Day

The odds and predictions in the article are based on the time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.