Celtics vs. Warriors Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
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Jeremy Perry
The Boston Celtics are entering Tuesday’s game on a two-game losing streak with one of those losses coming at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers 96-95 on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors blew out the Detroit Pistons in their latest contest by a score of 118-91. The Warriors hope to piece together another nice performance against a Celtics team that is struggling to find their identity right now. What’s the best bet for this game?
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Celtics are currently 1-6 against the spread in their past seven games when entering as the road favourite. They have struggled throughout this young NBA season due to their constant rotation changes. They could again be shorthanded on Tuesday as it looks like Marcus Smart will miss the game.
On the other hand, the Warriors are 4-1 ATS in their last five games when coming into the matchup as the home underdog. This group has played much better as of late and they have the talent to pull off this mild upset.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics lost a heartbreaker to the Lakers, as point guard Kemba Walker missed a game-winning shot attempt as time expired. This team has the potential to be one of the best in the East but right now, they’re in a funk. They’ve now lost five out of their past seven games and that’s despite some huge performances from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Tatum put up 30 points, while Brown put up 28 in that loss to the Lakers. They will also face yet another challenge to their rotation as Smart will not be able to get onto the court for this matchup, forcing head coach Brad Stevens to reach further down into his depth chart for a solution. That’s bad news considering Smart is a defensive stopper and would have come in handy against Steph Curry.
Golden State Warriors
The biggest factor in this ball game is going to be Curry, who is coming off another dominant night. Against the Pistons, Curry had 28 points on high efficiency, continuing his stellar season. This roster as a whole looked much improved compared to their game against the Phoenix Suns, the game before, a contest that saw the team shoot 38 per cent from the field and only 28 per cent from beyond the arc.
Golden State’s largest flaw right now is the consistency of their supporting cast. Curry has been incredible all year long but other players such as Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre and Draymond Green can either show up and have big games, or could all look flat and disappear. Oubre and Wiggins are the key here as they combine to score 34.6 points in the team’s wins this season, compared to 24.1 points in the losses.
Also, G-State will be without rookie centre James Wisemen for this game after he was ruled out with an injury. The injury is yet another hit for a Warriors team that hasn’t had much consistency in anything this season outside of Curry.
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