Boston Celtics vs Phoenix Suns NBA Betting Preview & Odds
NBA Action on Saturday night and we will see the Boston Celtics travel to Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona to take on the Phoenix Suns. Local TV will carry this game, which has a start time of 10:00 pm EST.
Current betting odds for this game have the have the Celtics listed as 9 point favorites, while the total has been set at 215.
Head-To-Head This Year: Boston won the lone matchup this year 117-103 as 9 point home favorites.
The Boston Celtics have had a nice year overall and after going through a recent 4 game slide, they have come back to win their last three games, including a 91-79 home win over division leading Toronto in their last game. The Celts are now 42-30 overall, but just 16-18 on the road. The are 2nd in the Atlantic and if the playoffs started today they would have the 4th slot in the East. The Celts are led by Isaiah Thomas, who averages 22.2 ppg, while Avery Bradley is 2nd at 15.1 ppg. Jared Sullinger is the team’s leading rebounder at 8.6 rpg and is 4th in scoring at 10.5 ppg. Evan Turner (10.2 ppg) and Kelly Olynyk (10.0 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team, while Olynyk is the team’s best long range at 40.2% from beyond the arc. Absent from this game will be the team’s 3rd leading scorer Jae Crowder (14.4 ppg), who is dealing with an ankle sprain. Boston checks in at 5th in the league in scoring, putting up 105.8 ppg, but they are not a good shooting team as they rank 24th in shooting overall and 27th from long range. They have been solid at the charity stripe, where they are 5th. The defensive numbers are solid as they come in ranked 13th in points allowed, giving up 102.0 ppg, while also ranking 4th defensive FG% overall and 1st in 3-point defense. On the road the Celtics have averaged 105.4 ppg on 44.6% shooting, while allowing 104.0 ppg on 45.1% shooting.
Trends: Boston is 8-1 ATS in their last 9 road games vs. a team with a losing home record and 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. the Pacific, but just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games playing on 2 days rest. The Over is 13-4 in their last 17 vs. the Western Conference, while the Under is 7-1 in their last 8 games following a straight up win.
The Phoenix Suns can’t wait for the offseason to begin as they have just had a miserable season. The Suns are just 22-50 overall, including 13-26 at home. They have won 3 of their last 6 games, but let’s also note that two of the wins were vs the Lakers and one was at home by just three points over Minnesota. Hardly impressive. The Suns are led by Brandon Knight, who averages 19.4 ppg, while Devin Booker is next at 12.9 ppg. Booker has been hot of late as he comes in averaging 22.8 ppg in his last 10 games. T.J. Warren (11.0 ppg) and Mirza Teletovic (11.0 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team. Tyson Chandler leads the team in rebounding at 8.5 rpg, but is listed as questionable for this game. For the year the Suns come in ranked 22nd in the league in scoring, putting up just 100.4 ppg, while also ranking 29th in shooting overall,14th in three point shooting and 20th from the charity stripe. The defense is where the issues arise for this team as they check in at 29th in points allowed at 107.7 ppg, while also ranking 27th in defensive FG% overall and 30th in 3-point defense. At home the Suns have averaged 103.6 ppg on 44.2% shooting, while allowing 106.1 ppg on 47.5% shooting.
Trends: The Suns are 33-16-2 ATS in their last 51 games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up loss, but just 1-7 ATS in their last 8 vs. the Atlantic, while the dog is 1-5 the last 6 in the series. The Over is 6-1 in their last 7 vs. the Atlantic, while the Under is 6-0 their last 6 games on no rest.
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