The Boston Celtics invade the San Antonio Spurs as the favorites on the NBA betting lines. The Celtics (10-9) have a defense that has turned home teams to ice while the Spurs (4-13) have a top-three offense at home.
Boston has won three of its last four games while the Spurs have lost six in a row. The Celtics could get a big bounce-back win here but it will have to neutralize the Spurs’ hot shooting at the AT&T Center.
Boston Celtics at San Antonio Spurs
- Point Spread: Boston -3
- Moneyline: Boston -150, San Antonio +130
- Total: Over/Under 214½
Celtics: Road Rulers
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Celtics, but they are doing one thing well: delivering as favorites. Boston is 9-4 as chalk and 8-5 against the spread. On the road, they are even better: a perfect 4-0 on both ends, making them one of the best teams to bet online with these conditions.
Boston owns a 6-2 record against teams below .500 and one of these losses came against the Atlanta Hawks, a conference finalist last season. The Celtics can credit their improved defense for their success, allowing the third-fewest points and the lowest field goal percentage on the road.
Just to get an idea of how much the Celtics’ defense has improved in the last few weeks…
Points allowed per game (NBA rank):
First 7 games – 119.7 (30th)
Last 11 games – 96.5 (1st)— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) November 24, 2021
If Boston can get its offense firing more consistently, this team can return to being a top-five seed like it was two seasons ago. Jaylen Brown should stay healthy while Jason Richardson and Robert Williams, both out with illness, will swing things toward their favor.
Spurs: Eyes to the Future
It’s a few weeks from December and Gregg Popovich’s Spurs are just one of five teams with four or fewer wins. This team is beginning to look as bad as most NBA betting previews predicted they would be.
The Spurs are not tanking, though. Far from it. San Antonio has put up a good fight in plenty of its games and despite having just four wins, it has covered the spread eight times, including four in a losing effort. The team is putting in the effort but when Dejounte Murray is putting up LeBron-like stats, it goes to show how talent-barren the team is.
San Antonio does have a good mix of prospects like Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell (injured) and Derrick White. But none of them scream “All-Star.” At some point, the team will need to rebuild, but for the meantime it can settle in as the NBA’s “loveable losers”.
Betting Pick
The Celtics should win and cover the spread here. While San Antonio should be able to make things competitive for some time, Boston has a more experienced team with a stringent defense and with not one but two All-Stars in Brown and Jayson Tatum.
San Antonio is also just 1-11 against teams who are .500 and above. Only Detroit and Houston have worse records. This game can be close but won’t go down to a final possession. Grab Boston and the points on the BetUS sportsbook.
Pick: Boston Celtics -3
Bonus Pick
The Spurs may be tough to side with, but banking on them to have high-scoring home games has been a winning bet, as we saw in their loss against Atlanta. The under has never hit in the Spurs’ eight home games, but this streak ends against Boston. The Celtics have the defense to neutralize San Antonio’s hot scoring at home. Bet the under.
