Rajon Rondo Suspension: Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks, Game 2 Betting Odds

The Boston Celtics (0-1) and Atlanta Hawks (1-0) will continue their best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series on Tuesday night at Philips Arena, with the opening tip scheduled for 7:30 ET on NBATV.

Las Vegas oddsmakers have established the Celtics as 4.5-point road underdogs due to the one-game suspension starting point guard Rajon Rondo received for bumping a referee, which is three points higher than the closing line in Sunday's 83-74 loss in Game 1.

Rondo's production will certainly be missed, sharing the team lead in scoring with Kevin Garnett by netting 20 points in just over 43 minutes of action. He also managed to dish out a game-high 11 assists.

The Celtics are likely to take the floor with just three of their regular starters, as shooting guard Ray Allen is listed as doubtful with a foot injury, which caused him to miss the last 10 games of the regular season and the series opener versus the Hawks.

All-Star forward Paul Pierce will need to up his production significantly in hopes of returning to Boston with the series tied at a game apiece, averaging 17.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in the three regular-season meetings in this series in 2011-12. He was held to 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting in Game 1.

Sports bettors will find that the Celtics are 12-4 against the spread in their last 16 games after scoring fewer than 75 points in their previous contest, while the "over" is 4-0 in that situation.

Atlanta is known as one of the best defensive teams in the league, ranking sixth in the league in allowing just 93.2 points per game this year. Total players have definitely taken notice with the "under" being 4-1 in the last five meetings in Atlanta in this series.

The Hawks will need to remain focused against a veteran-laden team for 48 minutes, but they should improve to 7-0 at home when the total is between 170 and 179.5 this year.