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The Phoenix Suns take the West’s worst record to the East as they take on the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston on Wednesday 12/19/18.
Three Game Win Streak
This has been another rough season for the Suns who finished with the league’s worst record last season. This year, Phoenix is 7-24 and is tied with the Chicago Bulls for the second worst record in the entire NBA. Phoenix though enters this game with a three game winning streak that ended a 10-game losing streak.
The Suns are 28th in scoring at 103.1 points per game. Phoenix is also just 24th in points allowed at 112.6 points per game. They are also ranked 29th in rebounding at 40.5 per game and the Suns are the 18th ranked passing team in the NBA with an average of 23.8 assists per game.
Phoenix Suns vs Boston Celtics 12/19/18
Moneyline Odds: Suns +655, Celtics -870
Odds from sportsbetting.ag as of 12/19/18
Beginning To Play Like Favorites
The Boston Celtics are coming off a loss to the Detroit Pistons last Saturday night but despite that, they are beginning to play like the Eastern Conference favorites they were touted to be at the start of the season. The Celtics have won 8 of 20 and were on an eight game winning run when they ran into the Pistons.
The Celtics are the 4th best defensive team in the league when it comes to scoring defense as it has allowed opponents to score only 104.1 points per game. Boston is 10th in passing at 25.1 assists per game and also 9th in rebounding. Scoring-wise, the Celtics are 12th in the NBA at 111.5 points per game.
Who Wins?
The Suns and Celtics have played a total of 126 times during the regular season. The Celtics lead their all-time series 71-55 and have won seven out of the last eight meetings including the last four. They’ve played already once this season and the Celtics won that game in overtime 116-109 in Phoenix.
This is a mismatch on paper and personally, I think this is going to be a mismatch on Wednesday as well. The Celtics have owned the series in recent years and they have been very good at home with their 9-3 record at TD Garden. Meanwhile, the woeful Suns have won just twice on the road this season. Although one of the road wins was against the Bucks, the other was against the equally struggling New York Knicks.
Boston is eager to get back on track after getting derailed by the Pistons. The Suns may be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I’m rolling with the home team here and picking the Boston Celtics to beat the Phoenix Suns on 12/19/18.
Other Bets To Make
Phoenix is 12-19 ATS on the season and the Suns are 4-11 ATS in 15 road games played so far. Boston is 15-14 ATS in 29 games this season and the Celtics are 8-4 ATS in a dozen home games played so far. Head to head, it’s surprising that Phoenix is 8-2 ATS in their last ten meetings.
Phoenix Suns vs Boston Celtics 12/19/18
Spread Odds: Suns +12 (-110), Celtics -12 (-110)
Odds from sportsbetting.ag as of 12/19/18
The Celtics have covered the spread nicely at home this season while the Suns have struggled against it at home (as well as overall). Surprisingly though, the Suns are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 head to head meetings. But Boston has won by at least 13 points in six out of their last eight wins. With Al Horford expected to be back for this game, the Celtics are in good shape.
Prediction: Celtics -12
The total has gone under in 18 out of the 31 games played by the Suns. The under is 8-7 in the Suns’ 15 home games played so far. The total has gone over in 17 out of the 29 games played by the Celtics. The over is 7-5 in Boston’s 12 home games this season. Head to head, the under is 6-4 in the last 10 meetings between these teams.
Phoenix Suns vs Boston Celtics 12/19/18
Over/Under Odds: Over 219 -110, Under 219 -110
Odds from sportsbetting.ag as of 12/19/18
The Celtics are on a roll and have averaged 121 points per game in their last 10 games. With Phoenix also averaging over 110 points during their current three game win streak, I think 219 is doable for both these teams especially with how good Boston has been lately.
Prediction: Over 219
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