Sunday’s NBA playoff schedule will roll along with a battle between two Atlantic Division rivals as the No. 2 Brooklyn Nets head up to the TD Garden to face the No. 2 Boston Celtics in Game 1 of their first round series. The game will tip off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
Boston surged as one of the hottest teams in the league following the All-Star break, eventually earning the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Jayson Tatum inserted himself into the fringes of the MVP conversation by the end of the season, averaging 26.9 points, eight rebounds, and 4.4 assists through 76 games played. The team has been missing a key piece in forward Robert Williams III for the last several weeks but there’s a slight chance he could return by the end of this series.
Brooklyn officially clinched the seven-seed on Tuesday by defeating Cleveland 115-108 in the first game of the play-in tournament. Kyrie Irving went off for 34 points and 12 assists in the win while Kevin Durant dropped 25 points and 11 assists. Ben Simmons will not suit up for Game 1 this afternoon but he’s inching closer to making his Nets debut at some point during this series.
Boston enters this game as a four-point favorite courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. The total currently sits at 224.
Nets vs. Celtics, 3:30 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Nets +4
The top teams in the east tried to avoid the Nets for a reason and they’re riding plenty of momentum coming off the play-in game victory. Lean on Brooklyn to cover and potentially outright win this afternoon.
Over/Under: Under 224
Games slow down during the playoffs, even with explosive superstars like Durant, Irving, and Tatum on the court. There may be a bit of rust on the Celtics’ side with them not playing in a week so play it safe and take the under here.
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