Celtics vs. Lakers Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
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Andrew Rogers
That’s the question bettors have as the Celtics prepare to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night – and you can forgive some for questioning whether the Celtics’ latest surge is legit. Sportsbooks are on board, however, with the Celtics listed as heavy road favourites as they look to extend their winning streak to five games.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Being a comfortable road fave comes with expectations the Celtics haven’t been able to meet in recent years. They’re just 3-6 ATS in their last nine when giving five or more points on the road, a stretch that includes four outright losses. More encouraging, however, is the fact that Boston is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games overall. The Lakers are 4-1 ATS in their past five, but have covered just twice in their previous 12 games when getting 5+ points at home.
The total for this game is on the low end at 212, with 60 percent of Sports Interaction bettors siding with the Over. Boston’s red-hot defence has resulted in a 2-8 O/U record for the Celtics over their past 10 games, dropping them to 27-28 O/U for the season. The Lakers remain one of the hottest Under plays in pro sports at 21-33-1 O/U entering Thursday, and are riding a six-game consecutive Under streak at Staples Center.
Boston Celtics
A week ago, you could make the case that the Celtics were incapable of coming up big against tougher competition. That’s no longer the case: Boston was 9-16 against teams above .500 for the season prior to its four-game winning streak, but victories over the Knicks, Trail Blazers and Nuggets have improved that mark significantly. And they’ll look to build on that mark even more, with four of their next six games against teams at or above the .500 mark.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers find themselves in a similar position to Boston: Feeding off weaker teams (22-6 vs. teams below .500) while struggling against the elite (12-15 vs. teams with winning records). And while the Lakers pulled out a 96-95 win the last time these teams met back on Jan. 30, the Lakers had LeBron James in the lineup. He and Anthony Davis remain out, which will mean continued reliance on the league’s second-ranked scoring defence.
BOS
LAL