Previewing the Must-Win Game 2 for the Celtics and Thunder

“It’s the playoffs, man. If you don’t get excited about the playoffs, you don’t even deserve to be playing basketball.” Those words were said by 7-time NBA Champion Robert Horry. The playoffs are one of the greatest periods on the sports calendar when the stupendous meets the ridiculous. Who could have predicted that the three best teams in the regular season would lose Game 1 at home? Bunkers! It started with the Pacers erasing a 1-point deficit in the 4th quarter to close the game against the Cavaliers on a 20-10 run to seal the shocker. It continued with the Celtics kicking themselves after blowing a 20-point lead in the third quarter to lose in overtime. The Thunder didn’t learn from the two falling giants by losing a 13-point lead in the 4th quarter, ending with a game-winning 3-pointer from Aaron Gordon. So, how will these teams respond to even their respective series? The Cavaliers compounded matters by losing Game 2 in a stunning 35-19 collapse in the fourth quarter, although they were missing three players. However, we will focus on the games on Wednesday by previewing what to expect and making our predictions.

New York Knicks (1) at Boston Celtics (0)- 7 p.m. EST on TNT

The big talking point from the game is that the Celtics took 60 3-pointers and missed a playoff record 45 of them, which led to the epic collapse. It felt like the Knicks employed a risky strategy of daring one of the best three-point shooting teams in history to shoot wide-open shots. However, Joe Mazzulla will not panic after this loss because despite the epic failures from distance, the Knicks only won the game by 3 points. The concern for the Celtics is that they had a clean injury report at the start of Game 1, and now two players are day-to-day. Kristaps Porzingis was 0 for four from the field before leaving the game with an undisclosed illness, while Sam Houser suffered from a sprained right ankle. It remains to be seen whether Porzingis will play, but I think the Celtics will not miss that many three-pointers at home. They will also look to attack the paint more and put the Knicks in more foul trouble, similar to the first half of Game 1. I have the Celtics pulling away late in the fourth quarter and evening the series.

Celtics 111-Knicks 102

Denver Nuggets (1) at Oklahoma City Thunder (0)- 9:30 p.m. EST TNT
NBA Championships will hit bumps in the road. The Celtics have learned that lesson over the years, but this young Thunder team faces its first big challenge in Game 2. They breezed through the first round against the Grizzlies in a sweep by an average of 19.5 points. The series will likely be determined based on the wizardry of the two MVP candidates, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic. Jokic grabbed game 1 with a historic 42 points, 22 rebounds, and six assists to outduel SGA’s 33 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. The Thunder must improve in the rebounding category after losing on the glass 63-43. It will be interesting to see how the referees call Game 2 with Jokic tallying five fouls and drawing fouls from Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. The Thunder lost by 2 points, but SGA did not get help on offense from fellow All-Star Jalen Williams. Williams went 5 for 20 and scored only 16 points in the opener. I expect Williams to play better in Game 2 at home, and the Thunder will be able to close the game better by making their free throws. It will be a nail-biter, but the Thunder win Game 2.

Thunder 116-Nuggets 112