The Washington Wizards have dropped like a rock of late, and now are sitting in the final seed of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Washington is going to make the postseason but would love to move up as the regular season winds down. The Wizards’ only real chance at catching either the Heat or Bucks ahead of them is by winning next week against the Boston Celtics.
Boston has the superior record but will be on the road. The Celtics won’t have star point guard Kyrie Irving the rest of the season so the Wizards would like to move up to the No. 7 seed to have a chance at upsetting Boston in the first round. A win here could help make that more possible so check to see how these teams match up as the seasons winds down in NBA basketball wagering.
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Odds Analysis
The Celtics are 54-26 straight up and 49-29-2 against the spread. Boston has done very well on the road this season, covering in 28 of 40 attempts. The Celtics 18-4 against the spread as the underdog and they could be slight ones in this matchup in NBA basketball gambling.
The Wizards are 42-38 straight up and 36-43-1 against the spread. Washington has gone just 15-24-1 against the spread at home on the year. The Wizards are 18-32-1 against the spread as the favorite.
Injury Report
The Celtics were dealt a massive blow when it was learned Irving will be sidelined for the rest of the year with his knee injury. The team is locked in as the No. 2 seed in the East, and it was hoping to get Irving back at some point.
However, he is not going to be ready to play basketball for months. The Celtics were looked upon as a title contender but now that has to be severely questioned. Boston has good depth but the absence of Irving and Gordon Hayward, who was hurt very early in the season, takes away the team’s top end talent.
The Celtics are good enough to win a round or two in the postseason, but their high-end ability has evaporated. They could also be ripe for an upset early on, which is why a team like the Wizards would probably prefer to play them rather than the Raptors, Cavaliers or 76ers.
Key Stat
Two. That’s the number of wins for the Wizards in the past 10 games. They were solidly near the top of the pack in the East for much of the season until the wheels came off recently. Washington has lost four straight games to fall behind every other playoff participant in the standings.
Washington lost on the road to the Chicago Bulls, on the road to the Houston Rockets, on the road to the Cleveland Cavaliers and then at home to the Atlanta Hawks. The Wizards look like they won’t be much of a threat to any of the top seeds unless they can turn it around quickly.
The return to the court of John Wall has not helped. The team’s star point guard missed a big chunk of the season with a knee injury. He has been back off an on of late as he has still sat for a few of the games in order to rest the injury.
In order for Washington to have a chance at knocking off the Celtics, Wall needs to play well. He is averaging 19.2 points and 9.5 assists per game on the year.
Free NBA ATS Picks
This game means much more to the Wizards, who are still jockeying for position in the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Boston is locked in and may be more worried about resting its key guys than coming away with the win. The Wizards have not been playing very well of late but should be able to put it all together in this one to pick up a victory in NBA basketball betting.
NBA Odds: Wizards 107, Celtics 103
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