NBA: LA Clippers vs. Boston Celtics Preview, Odds, Prediction

The LA Clippers and the Boston Celtics clash on Wednesday night at TD Garden. This will be the battle of two wounded rivals, who had high hopes before the campaign started and are now battling for the playoffs in their respective conferences. We won’t see several superstars in this game. On one side, Jayson Tatum is out, while the Clippers appear without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Still, we believe that this is going to be one of the most interesting games of the night. That is why we decided to cover it in our preview. 

Preview

LA Clippers (17-17, +175) lost five of the past six games, with the only triumph coming in Sacramento over Kings. After that, Tyron Lue’s unit suffered back-to-back defeats at home, to the Nuggets 103-100 and the Nets, 124-108.

James Harden tore the Clips in that one scoring 39 points. The Nets had an extremely high shooting percentage, 56.8%, while LAC reached 38.1. What was unbelievable was that the host allowed 74 points from the paint, scoring only 38 on the other end. It was by far the biggest reason for the failure in this event.

Marcus Morris Sr. had a team-high 24 points with six boards. Eric Bledsoe added 15, while Keon Johnson scored 15 off the bench in 17 minutes. Luke Kennard was the only one left with double-digit stats in his column with 10 points.

Boston Celtics (16-18, -205) are back home following back-to-back games on the road. The first was in Milwaukee, where the Bucks defeated them 117-113, and the second in Minnesota, vs. Timberwolves, who were also better than Ime Udoka’s unit, 108-103. 

The Cs are without Jayson Taum in this one, which is a great blow. Without the top star, they couldn’t compete with the shorthanded T-Wolves. Like the Clippers, Boston struggled with defending the paint, allowing 50 points from that area, while scoring 26. 

Jaylen Brown had 26 points, continuing his excellent scoring form. The shooting guard added 10 boards to that too. Payton Pritchard ended the night with 24 points, eight boards, and six assists, hitting five threes in 14 tries. The veteran center, Al Horford, had 16 points, nine boards, and six assists, proving that he has an enormous impact on the game, while Grant Williams came off the bench to add 15 buckets.

Head to Head Games

The Clippers and the Celtics already met once this year. The game took place in Los Angeles, with the LAC winning that one 114-111. Tatum had 29 points, and 10 boards for the guests, while Brandon Boston scored 27 off the bench for the LA Clippers. 

Prediction

We didn’t mention that the Clippers are without Reggie Jackson as well. His absence at the backcourt position will be felt greatly, particularly because most of Boston’s points are coming from that area. This is the match of two injury-plagued units, but the guests have more problems, that is for sure. Therefore, we are betting on Boston’s win. The odds aren’t quite high, but on the other side, they aren’t bad either. We would suggest avoiding total points or the spread, and focusing solely on this recommendation. 

Pick: Boston Wins

Check out the preview for Hawks vs. Bulls game.