When you’re facing a formidable team in a seven-game series, you need to steal a game on the road and the Boston Celtics did just that. Now, they have homecourt advantage in their seven-game series with the Milwaukee Bucks and going into Game 3, the Celtics are in a prime position to steal another. The C’s have been nearly a lock when playing as a home favorite in the postseason in recent years as they’re 17-1 SU and ATS in their last 18 games at TD Garden as chalk.
The Celtics opened as 2-point favorites with a total of 220.
STANDOUT STATS
- Kyrie Irving’s lack of scoring in Game 2 was a big reason for why the Celtics fell short. The all-star scored only nine points on 4 of 18 shooting compared to Game 1 when he netted 26 points and shot 57 percent from the floor. During the regular season when Boston faced Milwaukee, he averaged 21.7 points per game including a 28-point winning performance at home back in November.
- Three-point shooting was key to the Bucks win in Game 2 as they hit 20 three-pointers en route to the victory with Khris Middleton hitting seven of them. Both teams have allowed their opponents to average over 35 percent shooting from behind the arc in the postseason. That was also a Bucks’ weakness during the regular season with Milwaukee ranking 21st in opponent three-point percentage on the road while allowing a league-worst 35.9 attempts from behind the arc.
- The Bucks were ranked second in points scored per road game (116.4) this season and were one of seven NBA teams to have a positive point differential in away games (+5.7). They split the season series at TD Garden and won their last game in Boston 120-107. However, bettors will the first-round series between these teams last season when Boston won each game at TD Garden in the seven-game series with three of those wins coming by double-digits.
- The Celtics’ three-point shooting has been a standout phase of their offense in the postseason. Although they rank second-last in three-point attempts amongst active playoff teams, they lead the NBA playoffs in three-point percentage (39.5) and still shot 35.7 percent in Game 2 vs the Bucks on 28 attempts.
- A lot of OVER trends coming into this matchup as the OVER has hit in four of the Bucks’ last five games and in their last five outings on the road (avg. combined score: 245.2). When these teams meet at TD Garden, the OVER tends to follow as it’s also hit in seven of their last eight games in Bean Town (avg. combined score: 215.6).
My Best Bet for Bucks vs Celtics
Celtics -2
I love the Bucks and think they will still win this series in six or seven games but they are not in a good spot going into Game 3. The Celtics looked like they’ve figured out how to guard Giannis Antetokounmpo by surrounding him as he enters the paint and I think they’ll limit Middleton on the perimeter and not let him shoot 7 for 10 from behind the arc again.
Kyrie Irving should have a big game because he has averaged over 20 points vs the Bucks in four games this season and scored at least 20 points in two games at TD Garden during the regular season. The Bucks have had a really tough time stopping teams from behind the arc on the road and that could be their downfall tonight.
