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Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors Predictions, Picks, Odds

Michael Crosson
Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert
12 minute read

The NBA Finals will resume on Sunday night with a critical second matchup between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors. Game 2 coverage begins from Chase Center in San Francisco at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Score Prediction

Warriors 116, Celtics 105

Best Bets

Warriors -4 (-110) at Caesars

Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors Predictions

After finishing ninth in the West with a record of 39-33 SU last year, Golden State immediately bounced back with a triumphant start to this season, as the Warriors opened with a red-hot 18-3 SU and 15-5-1 ATS run, with 14 of those victories coming by 10+ PTS.

However, Golden State was far less dominant during the absences of Steph Curry and Draymond Green, considering the Warriors enter Game 2 riding a relatively pedestrian 47-30 SU and 35-39-3 ATS stretch, with over half of those SU losses coming in the absence of Curry or Green (19).

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On the other hand, Boston stumbled out to a surprisingly poor start to the season, as the Celtics opened with a frustrating 15-20 SU and ATS skid, with ten of those SU losses coming by 10+ PTS.

The Celtics have dominated defensively since mid-January though, considering Boston is allowing just 103 DPPG across its latest 49-17 SU run, which includes an average of 101.8 DPPG in the first two postseason rounds against Brooklyn and Milwaukee; and 99.7 DPPG in the Eastern Conference Finals against Miami.

Curry played great in Game 1 (34 PTS, 12-25 FG, 7-14 3FG), and Jayson Tatum played awful (12 PTS, 3-17 FG, 1-5 3FG); but lo and behold, Boston still came out on top thanks to the eight other Celtics shooting 59% FG and 56% 3FG throughout their gutsy road win this past Thursday.

I’ll back Golden State here, as Celtics’ bettors will argue Tatum can’t possibly play any worse than he did in Boston’s Game 1 victory (12 PTS, 3-17 FG), which is probably true; however, Boston received a combined 65 PTS on 65% FG from Al Horford, Derrick White, and Marcus Smart in Thursday’s contest, which I highly doubt will happen again in Game 2.

Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors Betting Odds

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Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors Betting Resources

Boston Celtics Betting Analysis

  • SU: 64-37
  • ATS: 57-42-2
  • O/U: 49-50-2

After last year’s underwhelming 36-36 SU showing, Boston stumbled out a similarly mediocre start to this season, as the Celtics opened with a frustrating 15-20 SU skid, despite getting tagged as favorites in 22 of those contests.

However, Boston has arguably been the hottest team in basketball since the midway point of the season, considering the Celtics enter Sunday’s matchup riding an impressive 49-17 SU stretch, while scoring 114+ PTS in 31 of those contests (112 OPPG) and allowing 100 PTS or less in 27 of them (103 DPPG).

Golden State Warriors Betting Analysis

  • SU: 64-34
  • ATS: 50-45-4
  • O/U: 46-51-2

After last year’s lackluster 39-33 SU showing, Golden State clearly had a point to prove during the early stages of this season, as the Warriors kicked things off with SU victories in 18 of their first 20 games, with their only two SU losses across that window coming by slim margins of four points or less.

Golden State has admirably ridden the coattail of its defense since mid-December though, considering the Warriors enter Game 2 riding a relatively bumpy 47-30 SU and 35-39-3 ATS stretch, while smothering their opponents to 108.6 DPPG during that span.

Golden State’s mantra has slightly altered since the return of Klay Thompson though, highlighted by the Warriors averaging 114.5 OPPG across their 61 matchups since the five-time All-Star’s return from injury (36-25 SU).

The Warriors are 1-7 SU in their last eight matchups against Boston. (Getty Images)

Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors Head-to-Head

The Celtics won both regular-season matchups against Golden State last year, with their first meeting staying under the total at a score of 111-107 (U 227), while the second cruised over at 119-114 (O 226).

However, these teams split a two-game set 1-1 SU this season, with Golden State outgunning the Celtics for a relatively fast-paced home victory in their first meeting (111-107, O 216), which Boston countered with a commanding home win of its own in their second meeting (110-88, U 220).

Similarly, Game 1 of this series was quite the rollercoaster, as Golden State extended its lead to 15 PTS with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter (87-72); but the Celtics quickly flipped the script with a 17-0 run down the stretch, allowing Boston to pull away with a double-digit road victory (120-108, O 214).

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Key Players to Watch

  • BOS: Jayson Tatum - SF (26.9 PPG, 8 REB, 4.4 AST)
  • BOS: Jaylen Brown - SG (23.6 PPG, 6.1 REB, 3.5 AST)
  • GSW: Steph Curry - PG (25.5 PPG, 5.2 REB, 6.3 AST)
  • GSW: Klay Thompson - SG (20.4 PPG, 3.9 REB, 2.8 AST)

Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors Betting Conclusion

After posting a double-digit road victory in Game 1 of this series (W, 120-108), the Celtics enter Game 2 of the NBA Finals as four-point road underdogs against the Warriors at Chase Center, which is slightly heavier than the number Golden State was favored by in Thursday’s series-opener (BOS +3.5).

I’ll back Golden State here, as the Celtics have fared particularly well in hostile territory throughout these playoffs, considering Boston is a staggering 8-2 SU and 9-1 ATS across ten road matchups (46% FG, 37% 3FG), which includes a commanding double-digit win over Golden State in Game 1 of this series; however, that trend should ultimately come to an end against a Warriors squad that’s 9-1 SU and 7-3 ATS at home this postseason (50% FG, 41% 3FG).

Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors Betting Trends

  • The Warriors are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games.
  • The Celtics are 4-1 ATS in their last five games.
  • The Warriors are 11-1 SU in their last 12 home games.
  • The Celtics are 13-1 ATS in their last 14 road games.
  • The Celtics are 5-0-1 ATS in their last six matchups against Golden State.
  • The Warriors are 1-7 SU in their last eight matchups against Boston.
  • The Celtics are 5-0 SU in their last five road games against Golden State.
  • The total has gone UNDER in 11 of the last 14 matchups between Boston and Golden State.

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Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson
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