Suns vs. Celtics Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
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Andrew Rogers
The Phoenix Suns aren’t going anywhere in the race for top spot in the Western Conference – in fact, they’re in great position to land the No. 1 seed as they continue an impressive Eastern Conference road trip Thursday night in Boston. The Suns recorded back-to-back narrow road wins over East contenders Philadelphia and Milwaukee to improve to 19-7 away from Arizona, and are now just a game-and-a-half back of the Utah Jazz atop the West standings.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Celtics have been home underdogs just five times so far this season – and they’ve fared reasonably well in those games, going 2-3 straight up and 3-2 against the spread. They’ll need to be their sharpest to improve those records Thursday, with the Suns having gone 13-6 SU and 10-8-1 ATS as road favourites in 2020-21. Sports Interaction bettors like the Celtics’ chances of converting ATS in this one, with 61 per cent of participants siding with the home side.
The total is set at 219, with the Over and Under carrying identical -110 odds. And as with most NBA games in this era, the betting public is squarely on the side of the Over, with 59 per cent of Sports Interaction respondents taking the O219. The Suns were once a strong Under play but are 10-3 O/U in their last 13 games to move to 31-27 O/U for the season. Boston, on the other hand, has gone 9-4 to the Under in its previous 13 to even its O/U record at 29-29.
Phoenix Suns
Phoenix fans had high hopes when the team added Chris Paul in the offseason – but few could have expected Paul to orchestrate such a stunning turnaround. Paul’s 8.8 assists-per-game average ranks fourth in the NBA, and is his highest mark since 2016-17. His 13-assist effort in Monday’s overtime win over Milwaukee moved him past Magic Johnson and into fifth-place on the NBA’s all-time assist list; he’s just 181 assists shy of Mark Jackson for fourth.
Boston Celtics
Containing Paul, Devin Booker and the rest of the Suns’ surging offence will be a stiff test for a Celtics side that ranks in the middle of the pack in scoring defence. But the bigger priority might be improvement at the offensive end: Boston shot just 35.5 per cent from the floor in the last meeting between the teams, a 100-91 Phoenix win on Feb. 7. With Jaylen Brown sidelined due to injury, Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker combined to shoot 12-for-42 in defeat.
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