NBA Insider Explains Why Celtics Fans Should Feel Confident About Game 2

The Celtics aren’t in the driver’s seat, but there are reasons to believe Boston will shift the momentum in the Eastern Conference finals Thursday night.

The C’s opened their best-of-seven series with the Heat on a sour note, dropping Game 1 in Miami largely due to an abysmal third quarter. But as Brian Windhorst reminded the basketball world Thursday, the Celtics aren’t strangers to facing a playoff series deficit.

“The Celtics have four road wins on the playoffs,” Windhorst said on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “They are 9-1 coming off losses their last 10 losses. Three times in the last series they fell down. They fell down 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 — they always bounced back with a victory. I will just tell you, being around them, they were not super bothered and worried about their performance the other night. They obviously knew they had to improve, but they are a very confident team. So, just know that as you watch this game tonight.”

Oddsmakers aren’t as optimistic about the Celtics evening the series before it shifts to TD Garden. The Heat are a 3.5-point favorite and -160 moneyline bet at DraftKings Sportsbook for Game 2. That said, the C’s are just slight underdogs (+110) to win the best-of-seven set and represent the East in the NBA Finals.

The Celtics and the Heat are scheduled to tip off Game 2 at FTX Arena at 8:30 p.m. ET.