In a surprising start to the second round of the NBA playoffs, the Boston Celtics find themselves trailing the New York Knicks 2-0 in their series. This comes after the Knicks rallied from 20-point deficits in the first two games to come away with a pair of narrow victories.
Following Wednesday's Game 2 defeat, Celtics forward Kristaps Porzingis explained how dropping the first two games could actually be a positive for Boston.
"In a way, it kinda takes all the pressure off of us," Porzingis said. "If you check the odds, maybe the Knicks are the favorites now to win.
"We were expected to win, so for us to be in this hole right now, with our backs against the wall, we have nothing to lose. We've got to go out there and leave it all out on the floor. It's still a lot of basketball left to play, and let's see where it goes."
Porzingis certainly isn't wrong when it comes to the betting odds for the series at most sportsbooks. The Knicks currently have -110 odds to win the series on FanDuel, while possessing -115 odds to come away victorious on Caesars.
It's worth noting not every sportsbook is fading the Celtics. On DraftKings, the Celtics still own -120 odds to win the playoff series, while the Knicks are still the underdog at +100 odds.
The Celtics haven't been quite at full strength to start off the series. Porzingis is dealing with a mysterious illness and has been limited to 27 minutes over the first two games. In Game 2, the veteran big man scored eight points and secured four rebounds in 14 minutes.
As the series shifts to New York, the Celtics will need to see increased production out of Porzingis if they want to climb back into this series.
