Hawks vs Celtics Game 2 Odds, Picks, and Predictions: Capela Clashes With Celtics Frontcourt

The Boston Celtics lived up to the NBA Playoff odds’ expectations in the opening game of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal with the Atlanta Hawks and are again installed as double-digit favorites for Game 2 on Tuesday.

Boston covered as closing 10-point home chalk in Game 1, rolling to a 112-99 victory, and fights a similar spread for the second game of this series. The Hawks haven’t had much success against the Celtics this season, dropping all four meetings with Boston and failing to cover as underdogs in each of those games.

I run down the spread and Over/Under total for Tuesday’s tilt and give my best NBA picks and predictions for Game 2 between the Hawks and Celtics on April 18.

Hawks vs Celtics Game 2 best odds

Hawks vs Celtics Game 2 picks and predictions

The Atlanta Hawks have a tough time stacking up against the Boston Celtics in just about every facet, but I will give the nod to Atlanta’s big men in this series.

Outside of 6-foot-9 center Robert Williams, who’s been drawn away from the rim on plenty of defensive sets due to the Hawks’ pick-and-roll, Boston runs a little light under the basket. The veteran Al Horford prefers to park himself in the corner and Grant Williams is a scrappy 6-foot-6 power forward.

Atlanta has an edge inside when it comes to 6-foot-10 center Clint Capela, who put together a solid Game 1 effort with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting along with eight rebounds in 27 minutes.

Capela can sometimes get lost in the offense for the Hawks but has topped his point prop in seven of his last 10 appearances. His point total for today’s Game 2 is bouncing between 9.5 and 10.5 across the industry.

Capela is also being counted on to wrangle rebounds after Atlanta was outworked 58-45 on the glass in Game 1, including 12 offensive rebounds from the Celtics. He’s pulled down an average of 10.4 rebounds since the All-Star break and his rebounding total for Game 2 is listed at 10.5.

His player projections for Game 2 range from lows of 9.4 points to highs of 12 while his rebound estimates sit between 9.6 and 11.6. My projections for his stat line sit somewhere in the middle, calling for 11 points and closer to 10.7 rebounds.

Given the range in his points prop for Game 2, I’m going to split the difference and take Capela to record a double-double at +165 odds. He could technically go Under both the high end of his points (10.5) and rebound (10.5) totals and still cash in this bet at plus money.

The Swiss native has produced 35 double-doubles on the season (tied for 13th most) and I like him to go for at least 10 and 10 against Boston’s frontcourt tonight.

My best bet: Clint Capela to record a double-double (+165)

Hawks vs Celtics Game 2 spread analysis

After leading by as many as 32 points in Game 1 and cruising to a 13-point victory as 10-point chalk, the Celtics opened as 10.5-point favorites for the second game of this quarterfinal series. Since then, the spread has slimmed a bit to Boston -10 as of Tuesday morning.

There’s no doubting the Celtics’ dominance heading into the postseason. Boston wobbled a bit after the All-Star break but got right for the home stretch of the season, owning a league-high net rating of +15.6 in the final 10 games of the schedule, backed by an explosive offense from beyond the arc and a defense that’s been playing at playoff-like intensity for the past month.

That defense was on full display in the opener, checking Atlanta’s high-octane offense to just 99 points on 39% shooting. The Hawks entered the postseason as one of the top-ranked offenses in the land but Boston’s physicality in the halfcourt and versatile rotation gave Atlanta issues and forced the Hawks into plenty of bad shots while keeping Atlanta off the glass.

As for the Celtics' offense, it didn’t play its best in this playoff opener. Boston’s usual barrage of triples settled for 13 makes on 33 shots from distance and the team coughed the ball up 17 times, which led to 19 points off turnovers for the Hawks.

Atlanta was able to crawl its way back from a 32-point hole and had those laying the 10-point spread with Boston sweating down the stretch — a dip in intensity that didn’t go unnoticed by Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who said his team can play better in Game 2.

They’d better, at least if you’re among those laying the 10 points with the C’s. On the year, Boston has gone just 11-7 SU as a double-digit favorite which is well off the rest of the league’s 80% winning clip for faves of -10 or higher. The Celtics are 8-10 ATS in those games.

Hawks vs Celtics Game 2 Over/Under analysis

The Game 1 final score of 112-99 stayed well below the closing total of 232 points on Saturday, with the Hawks and Celtics running out a pace rating of 103.5 — the second-fastest tempo of the weekend’s series openers.

Game 2’s Over/Under hit the board at 228 points — a significant adjustment compared to the opener — and has since climbed to as high as 230.5 points at some sharper Vegas books. The number is anywhere from 229.5 to 230.5 as of Tuesday morning.

The Celtics and Hawks had played Over the total in their two most recent regular season matchups, with the April 9 result coming with both teams resting starters. The March 11 meeting in Atlanta, however, featured a full roster for both sides and produced a 134-125 outcome in favor of Boston — blowing away the closing number of 238.5 points.

The promise of more points is what’s pushing this total upward. The Hawks know they can’t win a defensive war against Boston and need to find a way to crack the Celtics stoppers. Atlanta was ice cold from everywhere to start the game, which could have been jitters and a looming letdown spot after stunning Miami in the play-in game last Tuesday.

The Hawks went from shooting 33% (including 1-for-16 from beyond the 3-point arc) to 44% in the second but bookended 25 points in the second quarter and 31 points in the third with 19 and 24 in the first and third frames.

Atlanta is 25-18 Over/Under on the road this year while Boston boasts a 25-16-1 O/U count inside the TD Garden.

Hawks vs Celtics betting trend to know

Atlanta is 25-18 Over/Under as a road team this season (58% Overs). Find more NBA betting trends for Hawks vs. Celtics.

Hawks vs Celtics Game 2 game info

Hawks vs Celtics Game 2 key injuries

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