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Entering the 2021 NBA Playoffs as the betting favorite to win it all, the No. 2 seed Brooklyn Nets will begin their championship quest at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday when tipping off their first-round series against the No. 7 seed Boston Celtics at Barclays Center.
Despite their ‘Big 3’ of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden being in and out of the lineup all season long, Brooklyn had enough firepower to finish just one game short of claiming the top seed of the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, injuries and COVID precautions doomed the Celtics to a disjointed regular season where they finished .500 and had to scrap their way into the postseason with a 118-100 victory over Washington in the play-in tournament.
Let’s see the betting splits and where both DraftKings Sportsbook and the public are leaning heading into this seven-game series.
Nets vs. Celtics series betting splits
To no surprise, Brooklyn enters as the overwhelming favorite at -1430 on DKSB and good majority of the public handle is leans towards the Nets. Just in time for the playoffs, Durant, Irving, and Harden are all healthy and ready to go for Brooklyn and are looking to extend their dominance over Boston, a team they swept this season by a combined point differential of 45 points.
There will also be extra pressure on Jayson Tatum to continue carrying the C’s on the offensive end with Jaylen Brown lost for the season due to a wrist injury.
The public is all about the Nets in this series. 84% of tickets and 65% of handle are Brooklyn and their Big 3.
Nets vs. Celtics Game 1 outlook
Brooklyn enters Saturday as an eight-point favorite and even with another potential explosion from Tatum making things interesting, lean towards the Nets covering and setting the tone for the series. The public is backing the Nets, with 58% of handle and bets on Brooklyn to cover the spread.
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