NBA Eastern Conference Finals Betting Odds, Lines Picks & Predictions Game 2

After stealing the road win, the Hawks take on the Bucks for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday night. With the Game 1 win, the Hawks became only the 4th team in history to win the first game on the road in three consecutive series. Good performances on the road have been the staple of their playoff run so far. Right now, they’re 5-1 ATS in the last 6 as the road underdogs. Overall this season, Atlanta is 50-35 SU and 48-36-1 ATS. The Bucks started well on Wednesday but lost the steam near the end of the game. They ended up losing despite closing as the -7.5 favorites. Milwaukee has struggled to cover all season, going 38-46 ATS. Their overall SU record is 54-30. On Friday, the two teams will meet for the 5th time this season. Each team has won twice so far.

Line Movement

Even though they lost Game 1, the Bucks are again favored by -7.5. The line has been stable so far, without any movements. The total dropped a bit, moving from 226.5 to 226.

Notes on Atlanta Hawks

After a poor shooting night in Game 7 vs the 76ers, Trae Young opened the Milwaukee series with a historic performance. The young point guard went off for 48 points and 11 assists, shooting 50% from the field. He took advantage of the Bucks’ drop coverage, piercing through their perimeter defense and dropping numerous floaters. Besides Young’s performance, the key for the hawks was winning the battle inside the paint. Capela and Collins dominated the boards with 19 and 15 rebounds, respectively. They outworked the Bucks on the glass and scored 17 second-chance points. The Bucks struggled from the deep but had a more than decent 47-95 field goal percentage. They were particularly deadly in the second half, posting an offensive rating of 126.5 in the final 24 minutes.

Deandre Hunter remains out, but Cam Reddish could be ready to play. Bogdan Bogdanovic still carries a knee injury and is listed as questionable.

Notes on Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks opened the Wednesday game strongly, but once again, their poor offensive performance cost them a game. Their shooting woes from the previous series continued as they went 8-36 from the deep. Khris Middleton particularly struggled to find his shooting touch. In game 1, he was 0-9 for the three and 6-23 from the field. Giannis almost had a triple-double with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists, while Jrue Holiday had 33 points of his own. Ahead of Game 2, the main question for the Bucks is how to handle Trae Young. They had some success with the small-ball lineup with Giannis at the 5. In those minutes, Young shot only 1-9. However, that lineup got destroyed on the boards by Capella and Collins.

The Bucks have no fresh injury concerns, with only Donte DiVincenzo unavailable.

Betting Pick: OVER 226

The Bucks were the best offense in the regular season and they have to start hitting shots at some point. We can also expect some improvement from Atlanta shooters, too. It’s hard to expect both teams will hit only 16 threes combined again.