Celtics vs Thunder Prediction, Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds and Picks

The leaders of the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics, are on the road Tuesday to tip off their second game of the year against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Boston took the first matchup, but OKC covered as 11½-point underdogs.

Can Boston cover -9 on Tuesday, or will the Thunder keep things close and cover for the 7th time in eight games against the Celtics?

Let’s check the latest NBA odds, stats, injury report and NBA lines for Celtics vs Thunder. We’ve plenty of NBA betting odds for you to consider.

Celtics vs Thunder Betting Lines

Celtics vs Thunder Picks and Prediction

There is a clear difference in ability and results between these two teams, with the Celtics an obvious choice to win outright. But, at -400, there is little to no reason to make a wager on the ML.

With the Thunder’s spread figures against the NBA and the Celtics, I am leaning towards OKC to keep things close and lose with dignity and by less than 10 points.

Boston is listed at -365 in our Vegas NBA lines. This means that if you wager $100 on the Celtics, you can win $27. Oklahoma City is +287, offering a chance to win $297 on a $100 wager.

The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives Boston a 78.49% chance to win, with the Thunder at 25.84%.

Celtics vs Thunder Game Information

• Game: Celtics (26-11) vs Thunder (15-21)
• Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
• Day/Time: Tuesday, Jan. 03, 8:00 p.m. ET
• Celtics vs Thunder Live stream: NBA Game Pass

Celtics vs Thunder Game Analysis

Boston’s East Lead Narrowing

Slowly but surely, the Brooklyn Nets are reeling in the Boston Celtics in the race for the top spot in the East. While the Celtics are playing great ball, the Nets are 16-1 in their last 17 games and would gain ground on any team at that pace.

After a rough patch where Boston went 1-5 straight up, the Celtics are back on track with a 4-1 record in their previous five games.

While the best teams in the league don’t often have outstanding records against the spread, the Celtics are an exception and rank 5th overall in return on investment (5.9%). However, that figure falls to 4.29% when playing away from home at 8-8-1.

Regarding injuries, Robert Williams III is questionable with a nagging knee issue, while Danilo Gallinari remains out as he rehabs a knee injury.

Over the previous three seasons, the Celtics dominated OKC with a 5-2 record dating back to 2020. However, in terms of spread betting, the Thunder are 6-1 ATS in those games. The last four were underdogs of +9 or greater.

Thunder Struggling on Both Ends

Things could have gone better for Oklahoma City over the last month, with a 4-8 record in their previous 12 games dating back to Dec. 7.

The reason for this is simple; a general lack of offense and/or defense most nights—usually both.

Entering play on Tuesday, the Thunder rank 25th in average scoring margin with 115.2 PPG on offense and 116.8 PPG allowed on defense. In addition, they are one of the worst shooting teams in the league in terms of effective field goal percentage (52.2%). OKC is one of the best-scoring teams in the paint, but that’s about all they can do right on offense lately.

The Thunder’s defense is also in dire straits as they have the 5th worst scoring totals and are the worst defensive rebounding team in the league.

While this is bad news for the Thunder and their fans, those of us betting on the Thunder aren’t having such a bad time.

Despite their terribad record overall, the Thunder are 4-3 ATS in their previous seven games. OKC rolls into Tuesday with a decent return on investment (10.79%) at home this season after going 11-8. That figure soars to 33.64% when highlighting just Oklahoma’s last ten games at home.

On the injury front, the Thunder are relatively healthy, with the only exceptions being Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who are both out indefinitely.

Celtics vs Thunder Head-to-Head

The Celtics won the first game of this season’s series 126-122 on Nov. 14 in Boston. But OKC covered as +11½ underdogs for the fourth time in a row against BOS dating back to 2021.