The Boston Celtics (42-30) head to Phoenix to play the Suns (20-52) in a game that will likely be up tempo. The game gets underway at 10:00 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 26 and will air on CNE and FAZ.
The Suns lost big to the Kings 116-94 on Friday. Devin Booker finished with 26 points to lead the team. The Celtics, meanwhile, are coming off a 91-79 win over the Raptors on Wednesday. Evan Turner stood out, accumulating 17 points, seven assists, and four rebounds.
The inefficient Suns offense (29th in the NBA with an offensive efficiency of 99.9) will square off against the stingy Celtics defense (fourth in the league with a defensive efficiency of 101.1). The Celtics figure to have the advantage on that end of the court. Furthermore, the defense of the Celtics should have an advantage in terms of effective field goal percentage. They’re fourth in the league in forcing misses (opponents’ effective field goal percentage of 48.1%), while the offense of the Suns ranks 26th in effective field goal percentage (48.7%).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Celtics won the first game 117-103. Kelly Olynyk was a top performer in the victory with 21 points, nine rebounds, one assist, three steals, one block, and four three-pointers.
The Suns are looking to improve on their records of 20-52 Straight Up (SU) and 29-43 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 20-52 SU and 29-43 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference.
On the other side, Boston has a SU record of 42-30 and an ATS record of 38-32-2. In Western Conference games, Boston has gone 42-30 SU and 38-32-2 ATS. The Celtics rank fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 105.8 points per game. The Celtics are shooting lights out from the foul line so far, with a .790 free throw percentage that ranks fifth in the NBA. Defenses have a tough time accounting for every player when up against the Celtics, who are known for distributing the ball with 24.3 assists per game. Boston’s defense is one of the top in the league, with opponents shooting only .437 from the field. They average 9.3 steals per game, good for second in the league. A large part of Boston’s game is creating turnovers and turning them into points. They are scoring 18.3 points per game off turnovers, which ranks fifth in the league.
Boston won the last meeting this season between these two teams, taking the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over the past 10 meetings. However, the Suns lead the matchup ATS with a record of 5-4-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Bos
Notes
“Phoenix is 6-19 SU in its last 25 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Phoenix’s last 6 games “.
“Phoenix is 5-17 SU in its last 22 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 6 of Phoenix’s last 8 games at home”.
“Phoenix is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Boston”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix’s last 6 games when playing Boston”.
“Phoenix is 4-10-1 ATS in its last 15 games when playing at home against Boston”.
“Phoenix is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Boston”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix’s last 6 games when playing at home against Boston”.
Phoenix ranks 22nd in points per game with 100.4, while Boston ranks 13th in points allowed with an average of 102.0 given up.
Phoenix ranks 17th in points per home game with 103.6 points, while Boston ranks 13th in points allowed on the road with 103.8.
The Phoenix Suns lost their last game by 22 points. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, the Boston Celtics are 10-4. Phoenix is 5-18 in blowouts this season.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Celtics are 30-3 on the season. When the Suns score fewer than 100, they are an underachieving 2-33.
At 12-27, the Boston Celtics have a poor record when their opponents score 100 points or more. The Phoenix Suns are 18-19 when they hit the century mark.
The Suns have a defensive rating of 108.2 (ranked 29th), while the Celtics rank 13th for their offensive rating of 104.2.
Phoenix has an average field goal percentage of 43.4%. Boston is a subpar 9-23 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
On average, the Phoenix Suns attempt 25.0 three point field goals per game and the Boston Celtics attempt 26.0 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, Phoenix has a poor record of 12-31, while Boston is 22-23.
The fourth-ranked team, Boston has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.81 this season. Phoenix ranks lower at 30th with an A/TO of 1.27.
The Suns rank 11th in rebounds per game with 44.2, while the Celtics rank sixth with 45.0 per game.
Phoenix is ranked 20th in defensive rebounds, while Boston ranks fourth in offensive rebounds.
Boston is one of the top teams in forced turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 15.5% (ranked fifth). Phoenix has a poor record of 13-30 SU this season when its TOV% reaches 15.5% or greater.
