NBA Finals Game 2 top picks & best bets – Sunday, June 5

Game one of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Golden St Warriors was an entertaining one. After an even first half, the Warriors dominated the third quarter and it looked like they were en route to a big game one home win. However, in the fourth quarter, everything went wrong for Golden St and the Celtics outscored them 40-16. That allowed Boston to cruise to a massive Game One win and get the 1-0 advantage in this NBA Finals series. Of course, the Warriors are a veteran team with battle tested players and they should bounce back, but that was a brutal game to lose. They had a big fourth quarter lead and the Celtics were reeling. How both teams will respond remains to be seen but we have some picks for Sunday’s massive Game Two. All odds courtesy of Bovada.

First Quarter: Golden St. Warriors -1.5

The Warriors will be very upset with how they played at the end of last game. In front of their home fans for Game Two, expect the Warriors to play with a lot of intensity at the start. It will be a lot of hustle and creating extra chances through effort. They looked slow and uninterested in Game One and there has been a lot of noise in the media about how the Celtics are simply a better team. While that may be true, the Warriors should get off to a hot start in this game and have the advantage in the first quarter. It will be close, but they will only have to lead by two when the first horn rings. The Warriors should be motivated in the start of this game and should be able to take it to the Celtics for the first 12 minutes.

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Boston Celtics at Golden St Warriors

While the Warriors will be motivated and it could translate in the beginning of the game, it will still be tough to win this game. The Celtics won last game with a terrible shooting performance from their best player, Jayson Tatum. Tatum shouldn’t have two bad games in a row and he can lead the Celtics in this game. While the Warriors may win, the Celtics proved they will play the Warriors tough and this spread isn’t giving enough credit to Boston. It should be a close game at the end, and for that reason we are siding with the underdog.

There are a lot of mismatches against the Warriors in this series. Boston is the best defensive team in the NBA and they will be the toughest task yet for the Warriors offense, their strong suit. Now, there will be some games where the Warriors can’t miss but in this series, it will be hard to do that. Boston have so many options to guard the Warriors’ stars and when the Warriors put out an offensively focused lineup, Boston can dominate them on the other side of the floor. Game One showed fans that Boston lines up really well against Golden St and it will be on the Warriors to adjust. While they should have a different plan in Game Two, it will be hard for the Warriors to blow out Boston. Expect a close game and for Boston to cover this spread. Perhaps they will even take a commanding 2-0 lead.

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Jayson Tatum Over 26.5 Points

As we mentioned before, Tatum had a miserable shooting night in Game One. He went 3 of 17 shooting and only finished with 12 points. He was, however, able to salvage his night with 13 assists. One thing we know about Tatum is that after he has a bad night, he will play aggressively. He shot 17 times last game and he should do that again. It’s unlikely he shoots as bad as he did last time out so with the rate he shoots, he should hit this over easily. Also, he will have something to prove and he may drive to the rim more often in Sunday’s matchup. When that happens, he is prone to get fouled and sink some free throws. Tatum should be ready for this matchup and he should cash this over with relative ease.

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