Golden State
Warriors at Boston Celtics Betting Preview
Saturday’s
primetime NBA action tips off at 8:30 PM with the Boston Celtics hosting the
Golden State Warriors.
On paper,
these teams have very similar strengths, we should be in for a close game.
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Golden State
Warriors: The Curry Show
The Warriors
are led by former MVP Stephen Curry. Curry is averaging 30.4 points per game on
48/42/93% shooting splits.
Golden State
is squarely in the mix of the Western Conference. As a reminder, seeds 7
through 10 will play in a play-in series to determine the final two spots in
the playoffs. Golden State has fluctuated between 8 and 10 for the last few
weeks.
The Warriors
are a balanced team when breaking down their two units. Offensively, they come
in 17th in the NBA, while their defense is 12th in the league.
We put
another notch in the win column with our last article, we picked Tampa Bay to
win in our Stars
at Lightning betting preview.
Golden State
plays at one of the fastest paces, and is in the top ten of threes made. It
isn’t just Curry, though he is dropping five threes a game.
Wings Andrew
Wiggins and Kelly Oubre average 18.0 points per game and 15.3 respectively.
Long-time Warrior Draymond Green leads the team in a few other categories,
hauling in 6.5 rebounds per game and dishing 8.4 assists.
As of this
writing, the Warriors are 25-29 against the spread and 22-32 against
over/unders.
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Boston
Celtics: Rising in Rankings
The Celtics
haven’t lived up to preseason expectations yet, bouncing between the fifth and
eight seeds in the Eastern conference. America’s
Bookie currently has them at +4500 to win the NBA Championship.
Boston is
steadying a bit of late, with their defense climbing into the top-ten of
scoring and efficiency.
The offense
is 14th in the NBA as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continue to hone their
games.
Tatum is
averaging 25.7 points per game to go along with 7.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
Brown is scoring 24.3 per game, shooting 49% from the field and 40% from three.
The offense
can beat you in a variety of ways with their balance. League-average in points
in the paint and 11th in threes made, there isn’t one recipe for success.
Trade
deadline acquisition Evan Fournier has shot nearly 50% from deep since joining
the Celtics. This may be something to consider when betting NBA
daily player props. Fournier offers a nice punch off
the bench for this deep team.
Previous
Matchup
The Warriors
and Celtics previously met at the beginning of February in Golden State. Boston
took the win, 111-107.
Both stars
showed out, Curry finished with 38 points and Tatum with 27. Neither one of the
Warriors secondary shooters made much of a difference, with Wiggins and Oubre
for 27 points.
Brown
finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Game Pick
When looking
at these two teams, they do play a similar brand of basketball. While the style
is the same, the Celtics are slightly superior across the board.
Boston will
have smothering defender Marcus Smart on Curry this time, as Smart was injured
back in February.
With Golden
State’s best player potentially neutralized, the scene is set for a big game
for both Tatum and Brown.
The pick here
is for the Celtics to win this Saturday night game and cover the spread.
