Monty Williams’ side will look to put their ignominious home defeat to the Hawks behind them, although doing so against Boston will be easier said than done.

Check the NBA odds as they develop.

Suns vs. Celtics NBA Betting Odds

As intraconference squads, Phoenix and Boston are, relatively speaking, unfamiliar foes. However, their most recent encounter was one that had a lot of ink spilled in sports media. The Celtics strutted into the desert on Dec. 7 and thumped the hosts 125-98. If the final score wasn’t bad enough, consider that the visitors held a 39-point lead when the final frame commenced. Not for the first time in 2022 (playoffs included), the Suns were kept at bay at home by extremely dark clouds.

With respect to dealing with spreads, Phoenix has proven to be a decent if unspectacular proposition this season. 28-25 is fine but suggests they lack consistency. Optimism resides in their 7-3 effort over the previous 10 tilts. Three of those successes occurred when Phoenix was viewed as an underdog.

There are only so many ways in which we can write that the Celtics are not to be trusted ATS (26-25-1 despite being the top dog in the Eastern Conference). Let’s dig up some deeper statistics, shall we? Boston has yet to lose at home this season to a Western Conference foe (10-0). The team also plays rather well on Fridays, sporting a 6-3 tally thus far. A bit more alarming is their 2-3 record during Marcus Smart’s injury-plagued absence.

Phoenix Suns

There is a sense of irony about Friday night’s clash with the Celtics. For one, as alluded to, the last time they met was an unmitigated disaster for the Suns. As such, an opportunity presents itself to even the score, so to speak. Furthermore, Phoenix is heading into Beantown to play a team that spanked them in December right after being on the receiving end of another embarrassing home defeat on Wednesday, this time to Atlanta.

If the first quarter hinted that fans would be treated to a fun contest, the Hawks made it quite clear in the next period that patrons shouldn’t get their hopes up high. The visitors won that quarter 40-24 and coasted the rest of the way for a 133-100 victory. Trae Young was up to his old tricks again, splashing three-point scores from unfathomable distances. The Hawks were a scorching 57.6 per cent from long range. Phoenix? 14.3. Yikes. It felt like everything Atlanta attempted worked (57.1 per cent field goal efficiency). Not only did Young (20) and Dejounte Murray (21) come to play, but so did bench player Bogdan Bogdanovich, who chipped in with 18 of his own.

Boston Celtics

Sometimes to be good, one needs a stroke of luck. To an extent, the Celtics can say they’ve benefitted from good fortune insofar as they’ve had the luxury of playing the Brooklyn Nets twice this season whilst Kevin Durant has been sidelined.

Boston ripped the Nets apart 139-96 on Wednesday, an unspeakably bad scoreline for the visitors. From the word go Joe Mazzulla’s unit ran amuck, claiming the opening 12 minutes by a score of 46-16. The hosts took what they liked when they wanted to, winning just about every statistical category imaginable, save perhaps free throw shooting. But Boston didn’t even need good free throw efficiency on the night given that everything else worked in their favour. Jaylen Brown carried over his excellent three-point play from Saturday night (7-12) and Jayson Tatum matched him, also going 7-12. Robert Williams III was the starting Celtic with the worst +/-: +22!

NBA Prediction: Who Will Win Suns vs. Celtics?

SUNS

Away

105

CELTICS

Home

112

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Predictions

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