NBA: Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets Preview, Odds, Prediction

This Thursday brings one hell of a match for all the NBA fans. The Brooklyn Nets and the Boston Celtics clash in their first meeting since the All-Star pause, and this should be a delight for every basketball lover. Nets are slowly rising in the standings, aiming to take over the Eastern Conference’s top spot from the Philadelphia 76ers. On the other side, the Boston Celtics will try to keep their fourth place, and if possible, make a burst that would see them improving the position, which is less likely to see anytime soon. Many exciting players are expected to appear, and we simply can’t wait for this matchup to start.

Preview

Boston Celtics (19-17, +130) are fourth in the East, as said, but the competition behind them is ferocious, and with a couple of failures in a row, they might easily find themselves fighting for the playoffs.

Right now, the Cs are on a four-game winning streak which catapulted them this high after being stuck in the middle of the conference for quite some time. Brad Stevens had a lot of trouble in finding the consistency of his unit. It is something that we haven’t seen frequently in the past, as Boston mostly played well over the past two or three years.

Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown score almost 50 points combined per game, 24.9 and 24.7 points, respectively. The two guys are true leaders of the team, but the Celtics started playing well when Kemba Walker shifted into a higher gear. In the past four wins, he had a team-high in scoring twice.

Brooklyn Nets (24-13, -140) have nine wins in the past 10 matches. And they have that without Kevin Durant, who won’t appear in this match as well. Nets’ doctors aren’t willing to risk anything, which is the reason why Durantula isn’t back on the court. But they don’t need his assistance at the moment.

James Harden is in the zone, with the Beard posting team-high in scoring seven times over the past eight matches. When looking at all the teams beaten during that period, Harden’s achievement looks even greater. Brooklyn’s victims were Warriors, Suns, Lakers, Clippers, Spurs, all on the road.

Harden posts 28.3 points per match with 11.5 assists and 9.5 boards while shooting 48.4% from three in the previous 10 games. So he is in one hell of a shape, we have to admit. Yet that is nothing special when talking about the Beard.

Head to Head Games

Brooklyn trashed the Celtics in Boston in the first game of the year, 123-95, with Kyrie Irving exploding against his former team, dropping 37 points. They would win the final period 37-18.

Prediction

We expect to see a very efficient match at TD Garden on Thursday night. The line for the total number of buckets is currently at 234.5, and in our opinion, this event should see more points than proposed. Both sides’ offensive potential is enormous, with Harde and Kyre on one and Tatum and Brown on the other side. The odds are as usual -110, and we will go after it.