NBA Betting: Boston Celtics at Denver Nuggets

Added on Feb 24, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NBA

The only other NBA betting opportunity on the Thursday sports betting docket is a non-conference matchup between the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets. The Celtics and Miami are neck and neck for the best record in the Eastern Conference, while Denver is in the #6 position out West. This will be the late game in the Thursday night TNT television doubleheader.

Boston Celtics at Denver Nuggets
February 24, 2011 7:35 PM Pacific

Nuggets will be starting a ‘new era’ without Carmelo Anthony and Chauncy Billups, but the ‘public perception’ that they got the worst of the deal may not be the case. The Nuggets got a lot of talent plus draft picks in exchange for Anthony who has been a huge distraction all season long and could have bolted as a free agent after this year. We look for Denver to actually play better down the stretch and at this point they represent a good wagering value due to the ‘square’ perception that they’re a significantly weaker team after the trade.

The Celtics are trying to balance the competitive demands of the Eastern Conference playoff race with their annual effort to take it relatively easy until the playoffs begin. They’ve shown an ability to ‘pick their spots’–like the 2/13 home game against the Heat–but in the big picture are typically a bad pointspread investment. They’re 19-24 ATS as a favorite though they’re a solid 14-11 ATS on the road. They’re coming off a blowout win at Golden State which puts them into a bad ATS category for them– after a win of 10+ points they’re just 5-15 ATS this year.

Denver will be looking to get their new players assimilated quickly as they’ve got an important Divisional rivalry game against the Blazers at Portland tomorrow night. While in a typical situation this might be a ‘lookahead spot’ for Denver their infusion of new talent changes the dynamic and with a game on national TV we look for a very strong effort from the home team tonight. Ultimately, we can’t pass up the strong situational edges for Denver and the value that we’re getting due to the public perception that the Nuggets are DOA after the Carmelo Anthony trade. Nuggets win this one outright.

Bet Denver Nuggets +4 over Boston Celtics