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The streaking Boston Celtics head to the Paycom Center to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.
Boston is the hottest team in the league right now with only 3 losses in their last 21 games played. The Celtics have moved up to 4th place in the Eastern Conference standings and they are just one-half game behind the 2nd seeded Milwaukee Bucks. Jayson Tatum has played like the MVP for Boston which has used its league-best defensive rating to get them in the Top 4 in the East.
Meanwhile, the OKC Thunder are out of the playoff equation and are merely going through the motions right now. It has been another terrible rebuilding season in OKC but the Thunder have been competitive and at 42-25-4 ATS this season, they are one of the best teams in the league in covering the betting spread. However, that competitiveness has not translated into wins. OKC has dropped nine in a row and they are 1-9 in their last 10 games played.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics extended their current win streak to three games after blowing out the Denver Nuggets 124-104 on Sunday afternoon in Denver. Jayson Tatum scored 30 points with 6 rebounds and 7 assists while Jaylen Brown added 30 points and 6 rebounds for Boston.
Payton Pritchard knocked down five three-pointers while scoring 17 off the bench as the Celtics moved to within a one-half game of tying the Bucks for 2nd place in the East. Boston is also just 3 games behind the East leaders Miami Heat and there’s a slim chance they catch up but if they can move to 2nd or 3rd, that would give them a home-court advantage until they face the Heat.
Boston ranks 16th in the NBA in scoring at 109.7 points per game this season. They are 5th in rebounding at 46.4 rebounds grabbed per contest and 16th in passing at 24.1 assists per game. The Celtics are the top defensive team in the league this season at 103.6 points per game allowed.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder dropped their 9th straight game on Sunday after they were beaten 90-85 by the lowly Orlando Magic in a low-scoring affair at the Amway Center. Darius Bazley led OKC with 18 points while Lindy Waters III scored a dozen points off the bench. Tre Mann added 13 points and five rebounds while Isaiah Roby added 11 points in a losing effort for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City has used five different starting lineups in their previous five games played, increasing their season total to 30 this year. That ties the franchise record which they set last season and with injuries continuing to hound them right now, they could break that record in the coming days.
OKC ranks last in the league when it comes to scoring points at only 103.1 points per game this season. The Thunder are 6th in rebounding at 45.9 boards grabbed per contest and are tied for 28th in passing at 21.9 assists per game. Oklahoma City is 15th in scoring defense at 111.0 points per game conceded this season.
Who Wins?
The Celtics are 18-3 SU in their last 21 games played. Boston is 11-1 SU in their last 12 road games. The Thunder are 0-9 SU in their last 10 games played. Oklahoma City is winless in their last 10 games played at home, and are 6-20 SU in their last 26 games against an opponent from the Eastern Conference.
These are two teams trending in opposite directions. The Celtics have been red hot since the calendar turned to 2022. Boston has climbed all the way from no. 7 to no. 4 in the East and although nothing is still certain for them as far as seeding is concerned, the Celtics continue to roll with three consecutive wins and an 8-2 Last 10 games record heading to this contest.
The Thunder have been one of the top ATS teams in the league this season. However, they have one of the worst records in the league and have lost their last nine games heading to this contest. On Sunday, OKC suffered a 90-85 loss to the Detroit Pistons who have the worst record in the Eastern Conference and 2nd worst record in the entire NBA.
As usual, expect the Thunder to be competitive here. But in the end, the duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will be too much to handle for OKC. Tatum and Brown are coming off a game where they each had 30+ points and when these two play well, the Celtics have been unbeatable.
Prediction: Boston Celtics
Other Bets To Make
Boston is 6-2-1 ATS in their last nine games played. The Celtics are 4-0-1 ATS in their last five road games against an opponent with a losing home record, 4-0-1 ATS in their last five road games against an opponent with a winning percentage below .400, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games as betting favorites, 6-2 ATS in their last eight games as road favorites, and 7-2 ATS in their last nine road games.
Oklahoma City is 4-1 ATS in their last five games played. The Thunder are 5-1-2 ATS in their last eight games against an opponent with a winning percentage above .600, 5-2-2 ATS in their last nine Monday games, 15-7-3 ATS in their last 25 games against an opponent with a winning straight up record, 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against an opponent from the Atlantic Division, and 17-14-4 ATS in their 35 home games played this season.
Head to head, the Celtics are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven meetings in Oklahoma. However, the Thunder are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings overall between these two teams.
Celtics
-15 (-110)
Thunder
+15 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 03/21/2022
Both the Celtics and the Thunder will be playing in the second of a back-to-back schedule. OKC has been a competitive team this season and they are one of the top ATS teams in the NBA this season. Meanwhile, the Celtics are the hottest team in the NBA and have the league’s top-rated defense since the start of the year.
15 points is a lot to lay but Boston has won six out of its last seven games by double digits and beat the nuggets by 20 points on Sunday afternoon. Boston’s offense has been clicking as of late scoring 126 and 124 points in their last two games played. Four out of OKC’s last seven games have been double-digit losses. With Boston trying to improve their playoff position and OKC playing for nothing but pride right now, I’ll take my chances with the red hot Celtics
Prediction: Celtics -15
The over is 7-3-1 in the last 10 games played by the Celtics. The total has gone over in 8 of the Celtics’ last 11 games against the Northwest division, 4-0-1 in their last five road games against an opponent with a losing home record, 8-1 in their last nine games when playing on zero days rest, 5-1-1 in their last six games as road betting favorites, and 8-3-1 in their last 12 games overall as favorites.
The total has gone over in 12 out of the last 15 games played by the Thunder. The over is 4-0 in their last four games as betting underdogs, 8-1 in their last nine games as home underdogs, 8-1 in their last nine games as underdogs, 4-1 in their last five home games against an opponent with a winning road record, and 4-1 in their last five games played in March.
Head to head, the total has gone over in two out of the last three meetings between these two teams. However, the under is 5-1 in the last six meetings in Oklahoma City.
Over
216 (-110)
Under
216 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 03/21/2022
The Celtics have emerged as one of the best defensive teams in the NBA this season. They have been the league’s top defensive team since the start of 2022 and they have used that defense to climb the ladder. Boston leads the league in defensive rating, is in the Top 3 in points allowed, opponents field goal percentage, and opponents three-point percentage. The Celtics’ last six opponents have not scored more than 104 points.
Oklahoma City is dead-last in the league in scoring and is going to even struggle against an elite defensive team in Boston. OKC was held to 85 points by Orlando one night ago and with fatigue likely a factor in this back-to-back schedule, I think points will come at a premium, not just for OKC but probably for the Celtics as well. Give me the Celtics and Thunder to play a low-scoring game.
Prediction: Under 216
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