NBA Betting Picks: Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards

Added on Jan 22, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NBA

The NBA lines have been posted for a busy day of action on Saturday, and we’ll take a look at the first game on the board as the best team in the Eastern Conference takes on one of the worst. The Boston Celtics are atop the Atlantic Division as well as the Eastern Conference with a spiffy 33-9 record. The Washington Wizards are at the other extreme, trying to stay ahead of cellar dwelling Cleveland with a miserable 12-29 record.

Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards
January 22, 2011 4:05 PM Pacific

Obviously the Celtics are favored here and with good reason. Were we concerned exclusively with the straight up winner there would be almost no case that could be made for taking the lowly Wizards. But playing on the road in the NBA is never easy, and laying 6′ points on the road–even with a good team–is always a difficult decision. Celtics had little trouble beating the Utah Jazz at home last night while Washington was hammered by Phoenix at home. Wizards have been a horrible underdog this season, meaning they’re a team that gets their wins against other bottom feeders and one more likely to roll over against the league’s elite teams. Washington is 5-27 SU/12-20 ATS as an underdog and they’ve been beaten like the proverbial rented mule by Atlantic Division foes going 2-9 ATS. They’re 1-14 SU against opponents with winning records though a more respectable 7-8 ATS.

Like most ‘public’ teams, Boston is a slight loser or break even in most pointspread categories but they have shown a profit in a couple that apply today. Celtics are a solid 12-6 SU/11-7 ATS away from TD Banknorth Garden, and they’ve made mincemeat of the Southeast Division going 8-1 SU/6-2-1 ATS. They have shown a tendency to not play up to their full abilities against opponents with losing records–despite a 20-3 SU mark against teams under .500 they’re just 11-11 against the spread.

The total looks to offer a stronger sports betting position–the Celtics are among the league’s best defensive teams with the #2 scoring defense in the league allowing 91.9 PPG. Washington is #21 in scoring defense allowing 102.5 PPG. Despite their strong defensive play, the Celtics have shown a tendency to score a lot of points against poor defending opponents which has resulted in a surprising number of Over games. Celtics Over in 14 of 23 against opponents with losing records and Over in 16 of 20 against opponents who allow 99 or more points per game. Boston is also on a strong Over run, exceeding the total in 7 of their last 9 games. Boston routed the Wizards 114-83 in the only meeting this season, with the game going Over the total. 6 of the last 8 head to head have gone Over including 2 of the last 3 meetings in DC. Celtics have an easy week ahead, with a home game against lowly Cleveland the only game scheduled before they begin a tough west coast road swing in Portland on January 27. We’ll look for them to play this one fairly loose and for yet another Over in the series.

Bet Boston Celtics/Washington Wizards Over 193