The best team in the NBA has resisted long losing streaks, which is why the Boston Celtics are the best. They put an end to their season-high tying three-game skid beating the Lakers in overtime on Saturday. With a few days to savor the victory the Cs welcome Atlantic Division rival Brooklyn Nets in the first of ESPN’s Wednesday night doubleheader. The teams met just a few weeks ago with Brooklyn playing its first game since Kevin Durant was shelved with a knee injury. Things didn’t go well for the Nets, who started the post-KD slide with a 109-98 setback ending a streak that saw them win 14 of their previous 15 games. Brooklyn is just 3-6 in nine games since Durant was injured.
The contest between the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 from TD Garden in Boston, MA and will air live on ESPN. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Wednesday NBA schedule.
NBA Opening Lines at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
The Nets built a big cushion prior to KD’s injury winning 12 straight and 14 of 15 while going 9-6 ATS. Taking one of the best scorers and players in the game out of the lineup does have consequences, though, and the Nets dealt with them immediately. They went 0-4 SU and ATS in their first four games without Durant. There was a brief reset with road wins over Utah and Golden State before dropping two more games, including a home contest to the lowly Pistons. Brooklyn hasn’t had much success against the Celtics even with Durant playing. They lost the first game this season, 103-92, in early December after getting swept in the first round of last season’s playoffs. The Nets are 0-5 ATS in the last five meetings.
With their second nine-game winning streak of the season ended by Orlando, the Celtics thought it would be a good time to let the rest of the Eastern Conference play catch up. Their first nine gamer came earlier in the season vaulting the Cs to the top of the NBA standings, where they’ve been ever since. The Celtics stopped a three-game skid with a 125-121 OT win over the Lakers, though they failed to cover the 8-point spread dropping them to 0-6 ATS in their last six games overall. The Celtics are just 1-5 ATS in their last six home games.
Brooklyn Nets
You would think that playing without a guy averaging nearly 30 points the Nets’ would struggle to score. After scoring no more than 102 points in the first three games after Durant’s injury, Kyrie Irving and the offense has been pretty good. Irving totaled 78 points in wins over Phoenix and Utah and scored at least 30 in the last six games. Starting with a 120-116 comeback win over the Warriors, the Nets scored 120 points or more in four consecutive games with the OVER 3-0-1.
Offensive efficiency and the ability to shoot the basketball consistently have aided the offense. Not only is Kyrie on a streak so is Nic Claxton, who has shot better than 63 percent from the field in each of his last eight games and leads the NBA in field goal percentage at 74.7. As a result the Nets are over 50 percent leading the league while averaging 114.4 points.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics had regulars in and out of the lineup over the last few weeks partly leading to their mini slump. Leading scorer and MVP candidate Jayson Tatum missed some time as did second leading scorer Jaylen Brown. And the team is without Marcus Smart for a few more games as he recovers from an ankle injury. Boston was close to being complete on Saturday and still struggled against LeBron and the Lakers, getting a win in a game that probably shouldn’t have gone to overtime. But when you’re the best team in the league you sometimes get the benefit of the calls.
Depth and offensive efficiency has allowed the Celtics to get by when missing key players. It hasn’t done much for them at the betting window, though. Five of their last six games were decided by four points or less with the other a 15-point loss to Orlando. Boston was favored by at least six points in four of those games and got 2.5 points in a 98-95 loss to Miami. All told the Celtics went without a payout in all six games dropping them to 25-25 ATS.
NBA Odds Pick
Including their playoff sweep the Celtics have won nine straight in the series. And the Nets have been inconsistent without Durant. The offense is there on both sides giving value to the OVER and with more depth I like the Celtics to continue their mastery.
NBA Odds Prediction: Boston Celtics / OVER
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