NBA Preview: Memphis Grizzlies at Boston Celtics

Added on Mar 23, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NBA

Wednesday night’s NBA betting docket features an interesting non-conference game between the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies at the TD BankNorth Garden. Celtics are 1/2 game behind the East leading Chicago Bulls and 2 1/2 ahead of the third place Miami Heat. Grizz have a 2 game lead on Houston for the 8th and final playoff spot out West.

Memphis Grizzlies at Boston Celtics
March 23, 2011 4:35 PM Pacific

The kneejerk reaction to this game is to assume that the Celtics will come hard in hopes to regain the top spot in the Eastern Conference. That notion flies in the face of the way that Doc Rivers has coached this team. The Celtics have already clinched the Atlantic Division meaning that they’re going to get a top half of the bracket playoff seeding regardless. With a lot of potential movement at the bottom of the conference playoff standings there’s not really a way to ‘lock in’ a favorable first round matchup at this point. Realistically, we don’t think the Celtics are overly concerned about any of their potential opponents. Strange as it may sound, their worst case scenario might be for the Atlanta Hawks to drop down far enough for a first round matchup with the Celtics–the Hawks have been garbage in the second half of the season but for whatever reason have given Boston fits in the playoffs.

Looking at Boston’s schedule for the rest of the regular season, there aren’t a lot of tough games besides an April 7 matchup at Chicago. The Celtics play Charlotte, Atlanta, Minnesota, San Antonio (possibly without Tim Duncan), Indiana, Washington, Detroit and Philadelphia. Even if they reduce their starters’ minutes it’ll be hard for them to not go 7-3 or better the rest of the way. Memphis on the other hand is playing for their postseason lives and has been a solid investment as an underdog this season. Grizzlies are 22-10 ATS as a dog and 22-14 on the road. Celtics are 25-32 as a favorite, 15-17 ATS at home and 6-10 ATS as a favorite in this price range (-6′ to -9 points). Boston coming off a double digit win at New York last time out and the Celtics are 5-19 ATS after a win of 10+ points. Boston is a veteran team that picks its spots during the regular season. We’ll take the points with Memphis.

Bet Memphis Grizzlies +6′ over Boston Celtics