Boston Celtics at Golden State Warriors Game 5 Betting Preview/Prop Picks

We're heading into Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and the series is tied at 2-2. The Boston Celtics find themselves on the road facing a tough Warriors team.

With the back and forth action lighting up the court, this game should be entertaining. However, our question is whether or not the Celtics can cover the four-point spread. We'll dive deeper into that question below.

The Golden State Warriors could be without a few players in tonight's game. Both Otto Porter Jr. and Andre Iguodala are listed as "day-to-day." Now, how much that affects the Warriors won't be seen until tonight's game.

There is a bit of good news, though, as Stephen Curry has assured the team he will play. So, between these two teams, which one is the best pick for this game?

Boston Celtics: Defense needs to be stronger than ever tonight

The one thing the Celtics need to focus on tonight is playing tough defense. Through this series, they've had bouts of great defense and poor defense. Although they only allowed 107 points in Game 4, they only scored 97.

This is similar to what happened to the Mavericks when they faced the Warriors. Boston needs to combine both offensive and defensive efforts to win.

In their Game 4 loss, the Celtics allowed Stephen Curry to score 43 points, shooting 14 for 26. With that kind of efficiency, it's no shock that the Warriors won the game.

Tonight, they'll need to limit the open looks that Curry sees. If they can do that, they'll have a better chance of winning. Still, the Celtics need to find a way to get an early lead over the Golden State Warriors. 

Golden State Warriors: A fast-paced offense could offset Boston

The Boston Celtics like to control the pace of the game. For the Warriors to win tonight, they need to speed up the pace and get the Celtics off-balanced.

In Game 4, they out-rebounded the Celtics 55-42, which was a deciding factor. The Warriors, however, could've done much better from beyond the arc. They shot just 34.9% from the three-point line, which is uncharacteristic.

Another area where the Warriors have improved during this series is on defense. Through four games, the Warriors have allowed just 105.25 points per game.

Throughout the regular season, the Warriors allowed just over 106 points per game. With a tighter defense, the Warriors have put themselves in a good position. Still, beating the Celtics won't be an easy task for them.

Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors Betting Pick

Now that we've looked at each of these teams, let's see how they are against the spread. For starters, the Boston Celtics come in as four-point underdogs tonight.

Through their last ten games against the Warriors, the Celtics are 6-3-1 against the spread. With a record like that, we've got to go with them tonight.

We'll also tack on the over in this game, with the total currently set at 212. These teams haven't exactly lit up the scoreboard, but tonight, we expect to see a lot of offense. The total has gone over in four of the Warriors' last six games, so keep that in mind.

DunkelIndex Free Pick: Boston Celtics +4, OVER

Prop Picks

Boston (-115) OVER 104.5 Points

Boston is averaging 111.8 points per game on offense, which ranks No. 12 in the league. That average remains consistent at 111.7 points per game on the road. Scores have gone OVER in four of the Celtics’ last five games as a Vegas road underdog.

With Dunkel predicting a Boston victory by the score of 109-108, take the Celtics (-115) to finish OVER their Vegas team total of 104.5 points against the Warriors.

Jayson Tatum (-130) OVER 26.5 Points

Tatum averaged 26.9 points per game during the regular season, which ranked No. 1 on the Celtics. The small forward has averaged 26.1 points per game during the postseason, which also ranks No. 1 on the Celtics.  Both those averages increase to 28.5 points per game in Boston wins.

With Dunkel predicting a Boston road victory, take Tatum (-130) to finish OVER 26.5 points against Golden State.

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