Best NBA Player Prop for Jayson Tatum in Pacers vs. Celtics Game 2

Jaylen Brown hit the game-tying three-pointer to send the game into overtime but it was Jayson Tatum who came out of the gates firing on all cylinders.

Tatum ended the contest with a game-leading 36 points, 12 boards, and four assists. It was his third 30-point performance in the last four games.

Tonight, his points prop is set at 30.5, so has Tatum turned the corner to make this an easy cash on the over? Or will the Pacers' defense be able to force him to come back down to Earth?

Best NBA Player Prop for Jayson Tatum in Pacers vs. Celtics Game 2

• Jayson Tatum UNDER 30.5 Points

Jayson Tatum UNDER 30.5 Points

As mentioned earlier, Tatum has seemed to hit his stride when it comes to scoring the ball as he is averaging 31.8 points per game over the last four games. But looking at his stats for the postseason this year, Tatum is far below that number which could suggest these recent games are outliers.

In the postseason he is averaging 25.4 points per game and has only passed the 30.5-point mark in three out of 11 games. The only times he went over was against the Pacers in Game 1 where he had 10 points in the overtime period and in Games 3 and 4 against the Cavaliers.

The Pacers defense isn't on the level of the Bad Boy Pistons or the Bill Russell Celtics but they have shown to adjust as the series goes on. After Jalen Brunson's 43-point performance in Game 1, he scored 29, 26, and 18 points over the next three games.

Albeit he did go off in Game 5, it is still promising for Tatum's under. A similar thing happened in the Bucks series with Kris Middleton regressing to the mean in Game 2 (Damian Lillard also slowed down a bit but that was due to injury). Taking those games into account, things should tighten up for Tatum tonight so look for his under on 30.5 points.

Find Patrick Previty's NBA betting record here.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.