The No. 7 seed Brooklyn Nets (0-3) try to prevent a sweep when they host the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics (3-0) Monday at Barclays Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET and airs on TNT. Below, we look at the Celtics vs. Nets Game 4 odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Boston took Game 4 109-103 thanks to an awesome game by Celtics wing Jayson Tatum and duds by Nets leaders PF Kevin Durant and PG Kyrie Irving.
Tatum scored a game-high 39 points with 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals while KD and Kyrie each scored 16 points and Irving went 0-for-7 from 3-point range.
Game 4 went Under the 223-point total by 11 points despite both teams shooting around 50.0% from the field because Celtics-Nets played at a snail’s pace.
Celtics at Nets odds and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:10 a.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Celtics +100 (bet $100 to win $100) | Nets -120 (bet $120 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Celtics +1.5 (-110) | Nets -1.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 220.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
Celtics at Nets key injuries
Celtics
- None
Nets
- PG Ben Simmons (reconditioning) out
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Celtics at Nets picks and predictions
Prediction
Celtics 111, Nets 107
Money line
LEAN CELTICS (+100) because I prefer to take whatever points I can get with Boston’s spread. The Celtics had more continuity entering the series but there was always a feeling that the KD and Kyrie combo would be too good to lose in the first round.
However, Boston wings Jaylen Brown and Tatum are outplaying them and the Celtics are winning the battle of possessions in this series. Boston has better turnover and rebounding rates than Brooklyn, which tells us the Celtics are playing with more focus and effort. The “eye test” confirms this as well.
Boston’s ML has also been steamed up from plus-money to the current price by sharp line movement. The “wiseguys” understand that Brooklyn’s only case for winning this game is “KD and Kyrie won’t get swept”. That’s not rooted in any basketball logic though.
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Against the spread
LEAN CELTICS +1.5 (-110) since their ML should also cash and I’d bet Boston up to -130 ML favorites if the spread goes through zero. Kyrie mentioned Brooklyn’s lack of continuity in the Game 3 postgame press conference, which pretty much sums up the Nets’ season.
Brooklyn has struggled due to on-court and off-court turmoil and has been overrated by the market despite these public issues. The Nets are 3-24 ATS in their last 27 games as home favorites. Furthermore, oddsmakers are trying to bait bettors with reverse line movement (RLM) towards Boston.
Most of the action is on the Nets -1.5 (-110) according to pregame.com, but they’ve gone from 2.5-point opening favorites down to the current price. RLM should be a red flag for any sports bettor since you have to ask yourself why the sportsbooks would make the more popular team cheaper. Hmmm.
The CELTICS PLUS POINTS is my favorite wager in this game.
Over/Under
LEAN UNDER 220.5 (-112) because this is the third-slowest paced first-round series, which trumps the elite shooting and scorers both teams have.
Or at least that’s been the case in Games 2 and 3 where both teams had impressive shooting percentages but each game went Under the total.
There’s also a line freeze in the betting market as most of the money and public is on the Over (per Pregame) but the total hasn’t budged.
It’s only a LEAN to the UNDER 220.5 (-112) because if the Nets pick up the pace to try and keep their season alive then the scoring in Game 4 will increase.
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