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Should We Bet Pacers/Celtics Any Differently After Game 1?
By Joe Tansey
Published:
The Boston Celtics went into the Eastern Conference Finals as the overwhelming favorite to advance past the Indiana Pacers.
Few people questioned those lines, -1000 to win the series and a 10-point Game 1 favorite, and ultimately the overall series odds did not change much since the Celtics drew first blood in overtime.
Boston only dropped one point on the spread for Thursday’s Game 2, -9 as of publication, and the over/under is 1.5 points higher compared to Tuesday’s opener.
While the lines remain similar to Game 1, the approach to betting the series could be different now that we know the Pacers can compete with the Celtics.
If Indiana handled the final 10 seconds of regulation better, which Rick Carlisle admitted as such after the game, we could be talking about a different-looking series.
The Pacers betting angle is fascinating from single-game and series perspectives.
Boston is only 1-4 against the spread in its last five contests. The only cover in that stretch was with the lowest spread of the run, a 7.5-point mark in Game 3 versus the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Game 2 has been a bugaboo for the Celtics. They fell at home to the Heat and to the Cavs in Game 2s this postseason. They are 2-3 straight up in their last five Game 2s dating back to the start of last postseason.
That’s a statistic that is really more of a coincidence than anything, but it’s at least worth pointing out. Maybe it’s complacency seeping in for a team that knows it’s better? Or maybe it’s just one of those weird things you can’t explain.
If you believe in the Game 2 hoodoo, or if you at least think Indiana will be competitive for the entire series based on Game 1, I would recommend the series spread props if you’re Pennsylvania online sports betting or New Jersey online sports betting.
Indiana is +165 at +2.5 and +330 at +1.5. You can also get the over 5.5 games at +175 ahead of Game 2.
And because you can bet on everything in the postseason, there’s a prop for Indiana to win Game 2 + Boston to win the series that sits around +400 across the various sportsbooks.
Boston is still the better team and will most likely advance to the NBA Finals, but there’s some value on the Pacers if you think Game 1 was a preview of how the series plays out.
Joe Tansey writes sports betting posts for Crossing Broad and also covers the Philadelphia Union for his Substack site, Union Soccer Blog.