Boston at Golden State Odds, Betting Pick & TV Info

Posted by Michael Hunt on Tuesday,March 7, 2017 7:55, EDT in

NBA News, Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

The Golden State Warriors won an NBA-record 73 games last regular season. But the Boston Celtics gave the Dubs all they could handle, including an upset win in Oakland. Boston makes its lone visit of the season – barring an NBA Finals rematch – on Wednesday night. The Warriors will be favorites on NBA odds.

Boston at Golden State Odds, Betting Pick & TV Info

When: Wednesday, March 8, 10:30 PM ET
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland
TV: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Boston / Golden State
NBA Odds: Warriors favored by TBA

Why Bet on Boston?

This will be the fourth game of a five-game road trip so the Celtics might be a bit out of gas. They looked on fumes Sunday in a 109-106. To be fair, the C’s were without two starters in Al Horford and Avery Bradley. It’s not clear if they will play here. Head coach Brad Stevens said that while he doesn’t believe that Horford’s elbow issue will be a long-term thing, he’s not sure when Horford will be able to get back on the court. Bradley is more likely to play.

Jaylen Brown started Sunday’s game in place of Bradley, finishing with 14 points (4-of- 8 FGs, 5-of- 10 FTs), six rebounds, three assists, one steal and one 3-pointer in 30 minutes. Isaiah Thomas dropped 35 points vs. his former team on Sunday.

Thomas has been electric during the fourth quarter of games during the 2016-17 season. He has four games scoring 20 or more points in the fourth. No other player in the NBA has had more than one 20- point fourth quarter this season.

The Celtics lost to the Warrior early this season, 104-88. The Warriors took control of the game during the fourth quarter when they outscored the C’s 31-9. Thomas led the Celtics with 18 points while Bradley added a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Warriors were led by Klay Thompson and his 28 points while Kevin Durant added 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Draymond Green added 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Last year, the Celtics won in Oakland 109-106, ending the Warriors’ NBA-record 54-game home winning streak. Steph Curry missed a long 3-pointer to tie it with 5.3 seconds left. Thomas made a driving layup with 8.3 seconds left on the way to 22 points for Boston.

Why Bet on Golden State?

The Warriors have looked a bit shaky since Kevin Durant was lost to a knee injury, likely for the rest of the regular season. But they avoided their first three-game losing streak in a few years with a 112-105 win at the Knicks Sunday.

Curry scored 31 points on 11-of- 24 shooting during Sunday’s win over the Knicks, adding eight boards, six assists, five 3-pointers, two steals and two turnovers in 37 minutes. Curry was operating with a 28.5 usage rate playing alongside Durant this season, but in the past few games with KD on the sidelines, Curry’s usage has surged to 36.0. Curry has now surpassed Chauncey Billups for the No. 10 spot on the NBA’s all-time 3-point shooting list. Thompson scored 29 points on 8-of- 21 shooting Sunday, to go with four 3-pointers and four rebounds.

The Warriors lost to Washington in the game Durant was injured and followed that with a season-low 87 points last Thursday in a loss to Chicago, ending their NBA-record streak of consecutive regular-season games without losing two in a row at 146.

Curry is 4 steals shy of 1,000 career. He would join Chris Mullin (1,360) as the only Warriors in franchise history to record 1,000 or more steals with the team. Green is 6 blocks shy of 400 career and 9 away from tying Andrew Bogut (403) for 10th place on the Warriors’ all-time career leaders list for blocked shots.

The Warriors have dished out 30 or more assists 39 times this season and are 38-1 in those games. No other team has more than 11 30-assist games this season (Denver). Golden State has recorded 15 35-assist games this season (rest of the NBA has a combined 17).

Warriors Co-Executive Chairman & CEO Joe Lacob spent five years as a minority owner of the Boston Celtics, serving on the basketball committee and earning an NBA championship ring in 2007-08.