NBA Lock Alert – Golden State vs. Boston
Warriors (+16½) at Celtics (-16½)
(O/U) 212
7:30 PM ET
Say what you want about the high-scoring, generally defenseless Boston Celtics (8-3 SU, 5-6 ATS, 5-6 O/U) haven’t heading into their showdown tonight at Boston’s TD Garden tonight.
That’s right, the Warriors have been on a red-hot roll when it comes to covering the spread for NBA basketball gamblers while the Celtics have been nothing short of ice cold.
Trends
Let’s take a closer look at both teams.
Golden State Warriors
- Warriors are 7-2 ATS in the last 9 meetings in Boston.
- Warriors are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
- Underdog is 15-3 ATS in the last 18 meetings.
The Warriors have dropped two straight and three of its last four games but have covered the NBA point spread in three consecutive games. The Warriors made my pick in the BetUS locker room pay dividends in the team’s 114-108 loss to Cleveland on Tuesday.
Golden State had just seven active players for the contest after acquiring veterans Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic on Monday, following their trade of unhappy swingman Stephen Jackson and third-year point guard Acie Law with the Charlotte Bobcats. Golden has gone 1-3 so far on their current five-game road trip.
Boston Celtics
- Home team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
- Celtics are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. NBA Pacific.
- Celtics are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as a favorite.
Since opening the season with a stellar six-game winning streak, the Celtics have dropped three of five, including back-to-back losses to Atlanta on Friday (97-86) and Indiana on Saturday (113-104). Boston failed to cover the NBA point spread in each of those games and five of its last six games overall.
Analysis: Teams split their annual two-game series last season, but Boston has won five of their last six home games against the Warriors overall.
However, Golden State has gone an impressive 4-2 SU in the last six games against the Celtics while covering the spread in three straight and five of the last six games overall.
I’ll keep tonight’s prediction short and sweet by simply saying that I like the warriors to cover the NBA point spread again as I genuinely believe the 16.5 points that Boston is giving away are far too many.
The Warriors might not play much defense, but they can score the ball with any team in the league and should certainly be able to keep the final score close to a Celtics team whose deliberate style of basketball isn’t real conducive to producing a bunch of blowouts.
Take the Warriors to cover the high point spread and the Under to cash in for the fifth time in the last seven meetings between these two teams.
NBA Free Picks: Warriors +16½ Points/Under 212 Total Points
