Los Angeles Clippers vs Boston Celtics 12/8/21 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Clippers duke it out at the Staples Center on Wednesday night.

The Boston Celtics have been in decent shape as they’ve won three of their past five games, but they will be eager to bounce back here after getting thrashed by the Lakers in a 117-102 road loss last night. Jayson Tatum led the team with 34 points, eight rebounds and three assists on 13 of 22 shooting, Robert Williams added 13 points on five of seven shooting while Josh Richardson chipped in with 11 points off the bench. As a team, the Celtics shot just 43 percent from the field and 10 of 33 from the 3-point line as they scored just 22 points in the second quarter to fall behind going into halftime, before getting blown out in the third quarter where they scored just 20 points to trail by as many as 20 points. Dennis Schroder scored just 10 points on one of six shooting while Al Horford scored just seven points on three of nine shooting.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers have been in a slump as they’ve lost five of their past seven games, but they will be looking to build some momentum after taking down the shorthanded Trail Blazers in a 102-90 road win on Monday. Paul George led the team with 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals, Marcus Morris added 17 points, Reggie Jackson scored 16 points with six assists while Luke Kennard chipped in with 15 points. As a team, the Clippers shot 44 percent from the field and 11 of 36 from the 3-point line as they as they struggled to shake off the pesky Trail Blazers until the fourth quarter where they held them to just 16 points to pull away for the much-needed victory.

Looking at the betting trends, the Celtics are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 road games, 5-1 ATS in their last six games playing on zero days’ rest and 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games overall. The Clippers are 0-5 ATS in their last five home games, 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 2-6 ATS in their last eight games overall.

Head to head, the over is 7-1-1 in the last nine meetings overall and the Celtics are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings overall.

The Celtics were building nicely before last night’s poor performance against the Lakers, so they will be itching to get back on the court and make up for it. The Clippers were really struggling before their win over the Trail Blazers but they will again be without Nicolas Batum who has been ruled out already. This should be a close contest, but the Celtics are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings overall and I think we’re going to see a strong response from them after last night’s disappointment.