The Suns are hoping to avoid the fifth defeat in six matches, while the Celtics want to secure another home win after they beat the Sixers. With plenty of picks and markets to choose from, don’t waste your time and join the action at Get More Sports.
Phoenix Suns at Boston Celtics
Spread: Boston Celtics -12 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: Over/Under 213 points (-110)
The Suns are playing the fourth away game in a row
The Suns are hoping to bounce back after a heavy 107:131 loss to the Detroit Pistons, but they are huge underdogs in Boston, and winning there would be a major surprise. Phoenix lost four out of the previous five matches, and this one will be their fourth consecutive game on the road. Jay Triano’s side is currently in the 13th position in the Western Conference with the 8-15 record, which is actually way better than many anticipated prior to the start of this campaign.
The Suns were already down by 28 points at the half in Detroit as the Pistons limited them to just 41 points, and the visitors were unable to recover, despite winning the final period by ten points. Phoenix wasn’t bad from the field (46.4%), but they were inferior below the rims, recording 37 rebounds in opposite to Detroit’s 44, while they had only 21 assists, ten fewer than the hosts. Devin Booker led the Suns with 22 points and four boards, but he committed season-high seven turnovers, while Josh Jackson added career-high 20 points, seven rebounds, and game-high three thefts. Greg Monroe contributed with 14 points, seven boards, team-high five dishes, and two steals, Tyler Ulis scored 12 points with four assists, while MarqueseChriss finished with ten points, four rebounds, and two thefts. Booker is the player to watch for the visitors as he faces Jaylen Brown, while I expect to see more from T.J. Warren who scored only seven points in Motown, and his duel with the rookie Jayson Tatum should provide plenty of excitement. The Suns could have an advantage in the paint as Boston is somewhat weaker under the rims, so Monroe and Tyson Chandler could dominate the boards against Aaron Baynes and Al Horford. However, the backcourt is a problem for Phoenix after Eric Bledsoe left for Milwaukee, so Triano is relying on Ulis and Mike James to fill the point guard spot, but neither impressed so far, and I think the PG position is the weakest part of the Suns.
Jay Triano is without a long-term absentee Brandon Knight who is out for the season, and BK’s missing is another reason why Phoenix’s backcourt is underperforming. Tyson Chandler wasn’t involved at Detroit but could back to the starting center position as Alex Len is dealing with an ankle soreness and is listed as questionable for this tilt. In case the Ukrainian is unable to feature on Saturday, Chandler and Monroe will see more minutes on the floor, while Chris will also see increased minutes. The Suns are scoring 106.91 points per contest on average (12th in the NBA), while they are allowing 115.83 points in return (30th in the NBA). Phoenix is among the best five teams (4th) in the league when it comes to rebounding (46.65), and their road offense is quite efficient as they’re scoring 108.20 ppg in away matches, which is good enough for the seventh road offense in the NBA.
Place: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Date/Time: Saturday, December 2nd, 2017, 1 PM ET
TV Coverage: NBCSB, FOX SPORTS ARIZONA, NBA TV CANADA
The Celtics are looking for the 20th victory of the season
The Boston Celtics bounced back following a 108:118 home loss to the Detroit Pistons with a 108:97 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, and it was their league-high 19th victory, so the Celtics are eager to make it to twenty against the weak Suns on Saturday. Boston is at the top of the Eastern Conference with the 19-4 record, four wins ahead of the title contenders the Cleveland Cavaliers, and how the things are going at the moment, these two teams will fight for the EC title.
Brad Stevens’ side had an excellent 49.4% from the field and hit 12 triples on 29 attempts (41.4%), but Boston was dominant in the paint as they didn’t allow easy points to the rivals, rejecting them on seven occasions, while Philly had just one block. Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 36 points (12-21 FG, 5-8 3PT, 7-8 FT), and four rebounds, while Al Horford added 21 points, eight boards, five dimes, and two rejections. Al played a significant part in the defense as he stopped Ben Simmons several times, as the rookie struggled against Horford once again. Marcus Morris chipped in with 17 points and five rebounds off the bench, while Jayson Tatum had 15 points and a pair of steals. It’s needless to highlight Irving as the player to watch for the visitors here, as he faces the unimpressive Phoenix’s point guards, and I think he can repeat another 30+ point performance on Saturday. Jaylen Brown scored miserable two points in a win over the Sixers, hitting just one out of six attempts from the field, so I believe he will respond well in a matchup with Booker, who is not known as a particularly good defender.
Brad Stevens is happy to have almost all of the players healthy and at his disposal as only Gordon Hayward is out and will not return this season. The Celtics are scoring 104.00 points per contest on average (19th in the NBA), while they are allowing 96.83 points in return (1st in the NBA). Boston is among the top ten teams in the league (6th) when it comes to rebounding (45.61), and the defense is among the best five teams in allowing just 43.73% from the field (4th), and 33.88% from beyond the arc (5th).
Phoenix Suns at Boston Celtics Trends & Prediction
The Suns are 9-13-1 against the spread (5-4-1 away), while they are 14-9 on over/under (7-3 away), and Phoenix is quite efficient on the road, so despite facing the best defense in the NBA, I am going with OVER here.
The Celtics are 18-4-1 against the spread (8-2-1 home), while they are 11-12 on over/under (5-6 home), so it is safer to play spread on Boston than on points, but I opted to go with both on this one.
My Pick: Boston Celtics -12 (-110)
Total: Over 213 points (-110)
