TD Garden hosts a high-profile Eastern Conference showdown on Wednesday night. The Boston Celtics welcome the Brooklyn Nets to town, with both teams jockeying for position in the early playoff picture. Brooklyn is 13-5 overall, with Boston entering at 10-8 to this point. Kyrie Irving remains out for the Nets, with Joe Harris (ankle), Bruce Brown (hamstring) and Nicolas Claxton (illness) also out for Brooklyn. Jaylen Brown (reconditioning) and Josh Richardson (illness) are questionable for Boston.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. ET in Boston. Caesars Sportsbook lists the Nets as one-point road favorites, while the over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 215.5 in the latest Celtics vs. Nets odds. Before you make any Nets vs. Celtics picks and NBA predictions, see what SportsLine’s advanced computer model has to say.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $9,000 in profit on its top-rated NBA picks over the past three-plus seasons. The model enters Week 6 of the 2021-22 NBA season up over $1,200 on all top-rated NBA picks this season. It’s also on a stunning 115-76 roll on top-rated NBA picks against the spread that dates back to last season. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Nets vs. Celtics. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Now, here are several NBA odds, betting lines and trends for Celtics vs. Nets:
- Nets vs. Celtics spread: Nets -1
- Nets vs. Celtics over-under: 215.5 points
- Nets vs. Celtics money line: Nets -120, Celtics +100
- Brooklyn: The Nets are 7-10-1 against the spread in the last 18 games
- Boston: The Celtics are 10-7-1 against the spread in the last 18 games
Featured Game | Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets
Why the Nets can cover
Brooklyn’s offense is tremendous. The Nets led the NBA in offensive efficiency last season, with Kevin Durant and James Harden still operating at an elite level. Durant is averaging 28.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, with Harden stuffing the stat sheet with 20.8 points, 9.1 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game. Brooklyn is leading the NBA in three-point efficiency (37.6 percent), with top-eight marks in field goal shooting, free throw volume, free throw accuracy and assists.
On defense, the Nets are giving up fewer than 1.06 points per possession, with top three marks in both field goal shooting allowed (42.8 percent) and three-point percentage allowed (31.1 percent). Brooklyn is No. 6 in the NBA in assists allowed at 21.7 per game, and the Nets are also in the top ten with 5.4 blocks per game. Boston is struggling on offense, shooting just 44.3 percent from the floor and averaging 22.7 assists per game, and the Nets have a path to defensive success.
Why the Celtics can cover
Boston is very potent on the defensive end, giving up only 105.3 points per 100 possessions. The Celtics are No. 6 in the NBA in defensive efficiency, with a top-tier defensive rebound rate of 79 percent. Opponents are shooting just 43.4 percent from the floor against Boston, with the Celtics yielding only 21.2 assists per game. Boston is above-average in steals (7.9 per game) and blocks (5.7 per game), and Brooklyn is currently the worst offensive rebounding team in the NBA.
On the opposite end, Jayson Tatum leads the way in averaging 25.7 points along with 8.4 rebounds per game, and Boston is a top-seven team in free throw attempts (20.7 per game) and free throw accuracy (80.6 percent). The Celtics take care of the ball at a high level, committing a turnover on only 12.5 percent of possessions, and Brooklyn is forcing only 13.4 turnovers per game in 2021-22.
