Two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference meet on Friday night, as the Milwaukee Bucks visit the Boston Celtics. It is very tightly bunched at the top of the Eastern Conference, as five teams are within just a few games of the top spot. Each team will have had just one day to get ready for this game, as the Bucks were home against New Orleans on Wednesday, while the Celtics were home against Phoenix on Wednesday. Let’s look at the matchup and NBA picks.
This NBA basketball game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics will be held at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts at 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday, December 21, 2018. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
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Odds Analysis
The Celtics will be listed as home favorites in this contest. The Bucks have not been that good on the road against the spread this season, as they are just 5-7-1 ATS, with six games going over the total and seven going under. The Bucks are averaging 117.6 points per game to lead the NBA, while they are giving up 108.8 points per game, 12th in the league. The Bucks are led by Giannis Antetokounmpo who is averaging nearly 27 points per game.
The Bucks didn’t have starter Malcolm Brogdon on Monday, as he was dealing with hamstring soreness. There is a good chance he will be ready to play in this one.
The Celtics were 8-4 ATS in their first 12 home games, with seven going over the total and five going under. They are averaging about 111 points per game and giving up 104 per contest. The Celtics started this season slowly, but they have played really well lately.
Forward Al Horford said recently to the media that he believes the tough start was good for the team. “It’s very rare for a team not to go through adversity in a season,” Horford said. “I mean, I think the only team that I can think of that probably didn’t was the Warriors won 73 games, but well, they lost to Cleveland (in the NBA Finals) that year. But that regular season was magical. And I think for our group, going through that early has made us stronger and tighter and made us understand that we need to play at a certain level and do certain things to win,”
Key Stat
Boston has won six of the last ten meetings in this series and they are 8-2 ATS, with eight of the ten going over the total. The teams met in Boston in early November and it was the Celtics winning 117-113. Boston has won eight of the last ten at home in this series, including the last six. Boston has also covered the spread in each of the last six meetings in Boston and five of the six went over the total.
Injury Report
As noted previously, Brogdon missed Monday’s game, but there is a good chance he will be back this week and he should be ready to play in this game on Friday.
The Celtics have been without Al Horford who has a knee injury and it is uncertain when he will return to the lineup.
Free NBA ATS Picks
There are some powerful trends in this game for the side and the total. The Celtics have simply owned the Bucks in Boston recently and it doesn’t hurt that Boston didn’t have to travel after playing on Wednesday, while the Bucks did. I will lay the points and take Boston. Recent matchups between these two teams have been going over the total on a regular basis when the games are in Boston, so I will also take the game over the total.
NBA ATS Pick: Celtics 118, Bucks 110
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