The Boston Celtics travel to the Lone Star state to take on the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center on Wednesday.
The Celtics are riding on a two-game winning streak and coming off a road win over the Chicago Bulls. The Spurs snapped a two-game losing streak with a home win over the Washington Wizards. The Spurs have won two out of the last three meetings between these teams including a 129-114 win at the TD Garden in their most recent encounter last January 8, 2020.
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are 10-6 on the season and they have the second-best record in both the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. The Celtics have won back to back games after dropping three in a row with Jayson Tatum out due to COVID-19 protocols. With Tatum back and scoring 24 points in their last game against the Bulls, Boston should be in good shape heading to this contest.
Jaylen Brown is having a fantastic season with a 27.2 points scoring average. The 3rd pick of the 2016 draft has scored at least 25 points in his last five games played. Jayson Tatum is averaging 26.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. Marcus Smart leads the team in passing at 6.2 assists per game while also scoring 13.6 points per game. Kemba Walker is putting up 17.0 points 4.8 assists per game in his four games back from injury.
Boston is ranked 12th in the league in scoring at 113.0 per game. They have 11th in scoring defense at 109.9 points per game allowed. The Celtics are 13th off the boards with an average of 44.8 rebounds per game and are 23rd in passing at 23.2 assists per contest.
Celtics
-165
Spurs
+145
Odds from BetOnline as of 01/26/2021
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are off to a 9-8 start this season. The Spurs currently have the most wins in the topsy-turvy Southwest division but are second in percentage behind the 7-6 Grizzlies. The Spurs snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating the Washington Wizards in their last assignment. San Antonio’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, scheduled for Monday was called off due to COVID-19 protocols.
DeMar DeRozan leads the Spurs in scoring and passing at 20.1 points and 6.8 assists per game. Dejounte Murray is their second-leading scorer at 14.6 points while also averaging 7.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. LaMarcus Aldridge is contributing 14.5 points and 4.7 rebounds while Patty Mills, Keldon Johnson, Lonnie Walker IV, and Rudy Gay are all scoring in double figures.
San Antonio is ranked 16th in the NBA in scoring at 111.4 points per game. They are also 14th in scoring defense at 110.6 points per game allowed. The Spurs are 9th in the league in rebounding at 46.1 boards pulled down per contest and are tied for 13th in passing at 24.9 dimes per contest.
Who Wins?
Boston is 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played. The Celtics are 14-6 SU in their last 20 games played on the road. San Antonio is 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played. The Spurs are 3-5 SU in their last eight home games, 2-6 SU in their last eight games as betting underdogs, and 1-4 in their last five Wednesday home games. Head to head, the Spurs are 15-2 SU in their last 17 games against the Celtics.
The Celtics have won back to back games and with Jayson Tatum back, they should be in much better shape than they were last week.
Jaylen Brown is having a fantastic start and the Celtics will also have Kemba Walker back in this game after skipping the second of their back to back schedule due to load management.
San Antonio is off to a surprising start. DeMar DeRozan is once again leading the way and the Spurs have gotten nice seasons from Patty Mills and Dejounte Murray. San Antonio will be without Derrick White here and the Spurs are coming off a canceled game against the Pelicans.
Boston will be playing with a complete lineup here as Tatum is back and Walker is expected to play after resting their previous outing. With Jaylen Brown having a hot start, the Celtics should have too many weapons for the Spurs defense to handle. Boston has struggled when playing in San Antonio but I’ll put my money on the men in green.
Prediction: Boston Celtics
Other Bets To Make
The Celtics are 6-3 ATS in their last nine games played. Boston is 4-5 ATS in nine road games played this season, 1-5 ATS in their last six games as road favorites, and 35-13-3 in their last 51 Wednesday games. The Spurs are 10-7 ATS in 17 games played this season. San Antonio is 6-2 ATS in their last eight games against the Atlantic Division, 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games as underdogs, and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against an opponent with a winning percentage of .600 or higher. Head to head, the Spurs have covered in seven out of their last 10 meetings against the Celtics.
Celtics
-4 (-103)
Spurs
+4 (-117)
Odds from BetOnline as of 01/27/2021
Boston lost three straight without Tatum but now that the All-Star forward is back, the Celtics should be back to their old form. Boston was 7-3 before COVID-19 disrupted their season and with Jaylen Brown having a career-season, I think the Celtics will have too much firepower for Aldridge and DeRozan to match. I have the Celtics winning by more than five points here so anything below that, I’m rolling with Boston.
Prediction: Celtics -4
The total has gone over in four out of the last six games played by the Celtics. The over is 8-1 in their last nine Wednesday games and also 7-1 in their last eight games against an opponent with a winning SU record. The total has gone under in six out of the last eight games played by the Spurs. The under is also 5-2 in San Antonio’s last seven home games. The over is 8-1 in San Antonio’s last nine games against a team with a winning SU record, and 5-2 in their last seven games as the betting underdog. Head to head, the total has gone over in eight out of the last 10 meetings between these two teams.
Over
225 (-110)
Under
225 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 01/27/2021
These teams have combined to score 234.67 points per game in their last three head to head meetings. Boston has topped 116 points in six out of their last 10 games played including 141 and 119 in their last two games. With Jayson Tatum back, the Celtics offense should be back at full strength. The Spurs are averaging 111.4 points per game and are conceding 110.6 per contest. Both teams should score in the 110s and with Tatum back, these teams should hit the over.
Prediction: Over 225