The Boston Celtics visit the Washington Wizards at the Capital One Arena on Tuesday night.
Boston is 52-23 SU on the season and they are in second place in the Eastern Conference team standings. The Celtics are 2 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks in the race for the top spot and they are also 3 games ahead of the No. 3 ranked Philadelphia 76ers. They are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played and have won their last three games heading to Tuesday’s road game in Washington.
Washington is 33-42 SU on the year and they are 11th in the East ladder. The Wizards have won just twice in their last 10 games played and have fallen off the Top 10. With only seven games left to play, Washington is three games back of the 10th-seeded Chicago Bulls. With the way things are looking right now, Washington’s playoff hopes may be slipping away from them.
The Celtics are back on track after they were briefly overtaken by the Sixers in the Eastern Conference race. Although catching the Milwaukee Bucks at the top may be very difficult now that there are only seven games left to play, Boston is three games up on the 3rd seeded Sixers in the race for the No. 2 seed.
Jaylen Brown stepped up in the absence of Jayson Tatum and scored 41 points while also grabbing 13 rebounds. Malcolm Brogdon added 20 points and 9 assists while Derrick White chipped in with 19 points and 8 rebounds.
Boston is scoring an average of 118.1 points per game this season. The Celtics are grabbing 45.3 rebounds per game and issuing 26.5 assists per game. Payton Pritchard is out for Boston while Tatum is listed as probable.
The Wizards have dropped out of the Top 10 in the East and they are now looking at the outside, 3 games behind the Chicago Bulls. Washington is just 2-8 SU in its last 10 games played and they have been without Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma for the last three and four games, respectively.
Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 26 points while Corey Kispert added 19 as Washington lost to Toronto 110-104. The Wizards have scored 104 or fewer points thrice in their last five losses.
The Wizards are scoring 112.9 points per game this season. They are pulling down 43.5 boards per contest and issuing 25.3 dimes per outing. Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma are out of this game while Daniel Gafford and Monte Morris are listed as day-to-day.
The Celtics are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played. Boston is 1-2 SU in their last 3 games played in Washington.
Boston Celtics SU trends:
Washington Wizards SU trends:
The Celtics blew out the Spurs in their last game played Boston led by as many as 47 points and they held San Antonio to only 16 in the final quarter. They did that without Jayson Tatum who is listed as probable for this game. Jaylen Brown stepped up and scored 41 points to lead Boston The Celtics held the Spurs to 38% FG shooting and 22% from deep.
After Washington snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the San Antonio Spurs at home, they struggled again and lost to the Toronto Raptors the last time out. In that game, the Raptors led from start to finish with the Wizards committing 18 turnovers which Toronto converted to 25 points. The Wizards were outscored by 18 points in the paint.
Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma have been declared out of this contest, leaving the Wizards very short-handed on offense against the prolific Boston team. Even if the Celtics will continue to sit out Tatum, we know what his partner Jaylen Brown can do in his absence.
I expect the Boston defense to take care of business on Tuesday night. The Celtics will dominate this game with their defense and that offense is going to outpoint the Wizards as well. Give me the Celtics to continue the strong finishing kick to the season.
Prediction: Boston Celtics
The Celtics are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games played against the Wizards. Boston is 1-2 SU in their last 3 games played in Washington.
Boston Celtics ATS trends:
Washington Wizards ATS trends:
The Wizards are 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12 Tuesday games played at home.
The Celtics are getting healthy at the right time. With the regular season winding down, Boston has gotten Williams back. Meanwhile, Tatum’s injury appears to be more of a precautionary measure by the Celtics. I expect him to be able to suit up against the Wizards.
Meanwhile, Washington’s offense will be heavily affected here with both Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma unable to play. Both Beal and Kuz would also have been able to provide a good defensive matchup against Tatum and Brown.
I expect the Celtics’ defense to contain the Wizards’ offense which has been compromised by the absence of Beal and Kuzma. Boston wants to solidify their position as the No. 2 team in the East and they still have a longshot chance to finish as the No.1 seed. I am not expecting a letdown.
Prediction: Boston Celtics
The under is 8-3 in the last 11 games played between these two teams.
Boston Celtics over/under trends:
Washington Wizards over/under trends:
Both teams play at a slow pace. The Celtic rank 18th in pace of play this year while the Wizards are 24th in that statistical category. Boston is also one of the best defensive teams in the league and with Washington struggling on the offensive without Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma, the Celtics should be able to control this game with their defense.
The Celtics have played to the under in each of their last 2 games played while holding their opponents to below 100 points. The Wizards have scored only 104 twice in their last 3 games played. They are also averaging just 105.6 points per game in their last 10 games played against the Celtics.
Prediction: Under 222,5
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