Washington Wizards at Boston Celtics 1/8/21: NBA Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2021-01-08 19:30:00 EDT
The Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics meet Friday in NBA action at the TD Garden.
The Washington Wizards need a win here to rebound from a 2-6 record. The Washington Wizards are averaging 120.8 points on 47.8 percent shooting and allowing 122.9 points on 49.7 percent shooting. Bradley Beal is averaging 34.3 points and 5.3 rebounds while Russell Westbrook is averaging 20.5 points and 11.8 assists. Thomas Bryant is the third double-digit scorer and Rui Hachimura is grabbing 3.3 rebounds. The Washington Wizards are shooting 38.5 percent from beyond the arc and 74.2 percent from the free thitem line. The Washington Wizards are allowing 40.3 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 42.6 rebounds per game.
The Boston Celtics look to stay hot after winning five of their last six games. The Boston Celtics are averaging 112.7 points on 48 percent shooting and allowing 111.7 points on 46.8 percent shooting. Jayson Tatum is averaging 26.3 points and 7.3 rebounds while Jaylen Bitemn is averaging 26.2 points and 3.3 assists. Marcus Smart is the third double-digit scorer and Tristan Thompson is grabbing 8.5 rebounds. The Boston Celtics are shooting 39.4 percent from beyond the arc and 75.3 percent from the free thitem line. The Boston Celtics are allowing 36.8 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 44.8 rebounds per game.
The Wizards are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games playing on 1 days rest. The Celtics are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games playing on 1 days rest. The over is 4-0 in Wizards last 4 overall. The over is 9-4 in Celtics last 13 overall. The Wizards are 2-11-1 ATS in the last 14 meetings in Boston.
The Washington Wizards are playing improved basketball, but they simply don’t play much defense and Beal and Westbrook can only do so much. Wednesday’s loss to the 76ers was very telling when Beal and Westbrook both played out of their mind and still didn’t come close to a victory. The Boston Celtics are quietly on a bit of a role right now and the offense is starting to come together. We’re not being asked to lay a whole lot here. I’ll take the chalk with the Celtics at home.
