The Brooklyn Nets (31-35) meet the Boston Celtics (44-23) Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. ET in the NBA’s Orlando bubble. We analyze the Nets-Celtics NBA betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Nets vs. Celtics: Key injuries
Nets
- SG Joe Harris (back) probable
- SG Jamal Crawford (hamstring) out
- SF Caris LeVert (thigh)
- C DeAndre Jordan (illness) out
- SF Kevin Durant (Achilles) out
- PG Kyrie Irving (shoulder) out
Celtics
- PG Kemba Walker (rest) out
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Nets vs. Celtics: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Celtics 116, Nets 102
Moneyline (ML)
The Nets (+310) pulled off one of the biggest NBA regular-season shockers ever in their last game Tuesday when they beat the Milwaukee Bucks 119-116. Brooklyn was sitting every preseason starter, and even some of their backups, and was an 18.5-point dog at tip-off.
The Celtics (-400) come into Wednesday’s game following a disappointing loss themselves to the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat. Boston came into the restart with hopes of running down the Toronto Raptors for the 2-seed in the East, but at the moment, they need to win out and Toronto to start taking L’s.
Brooklyn has won and covered two out of three games against Boston this season, but that came with a completely different Nets side. If the Nets hadn’t pulled off that miraculous upset win over the Bucks and the Celtics weren’t coming off a tough loss, maybe we could expect Brooklyn to catch Boston snoozing.
However, the Nets’ win over the Bucks hurt the payout of their moneyline, and no way I am betting $400 to make $100 on a Celtics outright win when their motivation is a question mark.
Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
How do you handicap a team that’s mostly playing G-League players and backups? The Celtics -8.5 (-110) rank as the far superior team, and the only reason they may not win and cover this game is simply because they’re basically done with the regular season.
The best trends I can find to support a Boston bet are (1) its against the spread record when favored 7.5-9.5 points, and (2) Brooklyn’s ATS record when getting that many points. In those situations, the Celtics are 7-3 ATS, while the Nets are 1-6.
Here’s why this could still be used despite the missing Nets players: BetMGM/bookmakers don’t have any emotion when setting a price. They are trying to get the most action and win the most money. Regardless of what we think of Brooklyn’s backups, BetMGM projects this game to have an 8-to-9-point margin.
BET CELTICS -8.5 (-110).
New to sports betting a $10 bet on the Celtics -8.5 (-110) would yield a profit of $9.09.
Over/Under (O/U)
The Celtics-Nets total is set at 225.5. Through three games in the restart, Boston’s Over/Under record is 2-0-1, and Brooklyn has a 2-1 O/U record.
I lean Under 225.5 (-110) because the Nets backups put up 119 points in Tuesday’s game and are due for some regression. Also, Boston is the fifth-most defensively efficient team in the NBA. It’s only a lRyaean, however, because I’m shook after Brooklyn sunk 21 threes in its win over the Bucks — the most efficient defense in the NBA.
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