Boston Celtics - Brooklyn Nets: Bets and Odds for the match on 21 April

In the second game of the Eastern Quarter Finals, the Boston Celtics will host the Brooklyn Nets. The match will be held on 17 April at 02:30 AM (+3 UTC). The Celtics clipped the Nets’ wings during the last second of the Game One as Jayson Tatum buried a layup and the team eked out a fighting 115:114 victory. Kyrie scored 39 but it wasn’t enough as the Nets will enter Game 2 on a confident note.

Total: Bookmakers from 22bet suggest that odds of 1.90 are equalized for the Over and Under for the Total of 226. I think this will be comparatively a low-scoring game even if the last game fetched 229 points. I believe the Celtics' defense will turn the screws on Irving while also limiting Claxton while the Celtics will also face fierce resistance from the Nets' defense. That’s why I will rather go “Under” 226 here.. (Total Under 226)

Player Props: Bookmakers at bet365 predict odds of 1.90 for Al Horford going Over 10.5 Rebounds here(At least 11 Rebounds). Horford had a strong rebounding game in the First match-up and ended up with 15 of them and I think he will be up for a big night again. I’d take his rebounding total “Over” here. (Player Props: Player Rebounds: Al Horford Over 10.5)

Handicap: Bookmakers at 1xbet  see the Celtics as the favorites but not by a long margin considering how close the last battle was between the two squads The handicap of -3.5 brings the odds of 1.97 in the favor of the Nets which suggests a close game. However, I believe the Celtics' effort will be much better this time around, I’d suggest betting on the handicap of -5.5 which has the odds of 2.08.  (Handicap 1 -5.5)

This game is available on the NBA League Pass.

The Celtics pulled through in the last game by a whisker and there is no doubt that their 10+ rebounding margin played a big role. Al Horford grabbed 15 rebounds in the last game while also dropping 20 points, and has been at his best lately. Apart from that, Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown dropped 20 or more too and Jayson Tatum conjured up a 31 points night. All these performances were fine and dandy but the Celtics allowed the Nets to shoot over 50%, something that usually results in a loss and they surely were on the verge, down by 3 with around 40 seconds to go. The Celtics did a great job of pitching in different combinations but they will need to be better on the defensive end. Can they ensure that the Nets don’t make another late burst as they outscored the home team 29:19 in the Fourth Quarter?

The Nets almost pincered out a win in the last game and if Kevin Durant made the three with 15 seconds to go, they’d have been up by four and probably would have won the game. This summed up Durant’s night, who shot just 9/24 from the floor and committed six turnovers. On the other hand, Irving was turned up and ended up with a terrific 39 points night, burying six triples on the way. Goran Dragic was also huge off the bench, managing a brilliant 14 points night and Nic Claxton helped matters with 13 points. However, their rebounding was outsized by Al Horford, and had they been doing a much better job on the rebounds, the outcome could have been rather lopsided. Durant will be due a big game here but I see the Celtics defense coming with a lot of firepower.

• Celtics most likely starting five: PG: Marcus Smart | SG: Jaylen Brown | SF: Jayson Tatum| C: Al Horford | C: Daniel Theis;
• Nets most likely starting five: PG: Kyrie Irving | SG: Seth Curry | F: Bruce Brown | SF: Kevin Durant | C: Andre Drummond.