The Oklahoma City Thunder (43-29) put their six-game winning streak on the line when they square off with the Boston Celtics (47-23) at TD Garden. The game starts at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 20, 2018, and will air on TNT.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Boston Celtics ATS Prediction
The last time the Thunder played, they beat the Toronto Raptors, 132-125. The Thunder, who came into the game averaging an offensive rebounding percentage of 27.8, had an absurd mark of 37.8 and had a free throw rate of 0.273 (above their season average of 0.188). Oklahoma City was led by Russell Westbrook, who collected 37 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds. This gave him his fourth triple-double in a row (22nd this season).
The Celtics lost big to the New Orleans Pelicans in their last matchup, 108-89. New Orleans made good use of their 25 trips to the charity stripe, converting on 20 of them (80.0 percent). Boston, on the other hand, was just 10-20 (50.0 percent). With 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting, Jayson Tatum was Boston’s high scorer.
From an effective field goal percentage perspective, Boston should have a noteworthy edge. The Celtics defense ranks first in effective field goal percentage allowed (0.491), while the Oklahoma City offense is ranked 18th in effective field goal percentage (0.516).
Oklahoma City heads into the contest with records of 43-29 straight up (SU) and 30-41-1 against the spread (ATS). Vegas has typically been fairly accurate when predicting totals of Thunder games, with 38 unders compared to 34 overs.
Meanwhile, Boston is 47-23 SU and 41-26-3 ATS. Unlike Oklahoma City, just over half of Celtics games have finished over the total.
Terry Rozier and Marcus Morris have been playing well over the last five games for Boston. Rozier has averaged 16.0 points and 4.8 assists per game. Not to be outdone, Morris has recorded 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds a game during that span.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams. In the first, Kyrie Irving put up 25 points, six assists and five rebounds and the Celtics beat the Thunder 101-94, covering as 6.5-point underdogs. The game finished with a total of 195 points, which was 12 points below the projected point total of 207 points. The Celtics had a better free throw rate (0.190 vs. 0.126) and had a better turnover percentage (9.6 vs. 11.4).
Oklahoma City Thunder at Boston Celtics Odds Pick
Free NBA Tip: SU Winner – Celtics, ATS Winner – Celtics, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes:
Oklahoma City is 15-21 ATS on the road with 18 overs and 18 unders.
Boston is 17-16-3 ATS at home with 19 overs and 17 unders.
When holding opponents below 100 points, Boston is 30-4 and Oklahoma City is 20-5.
The Thunder are 39-15 when they reach 100 points, while the Celtics are 35-10.
Oklahoma City ranks first in points off turnovers per game (18.8) while Boston ranks 25th (14.9).
The Thunder rank third in fast break points per game (14.9) while the Celtics rank 24th (9.7).
Oklahoma City ranks first in steals per game (9.0) while Boston ranks 21st (7.2).
The Celtics average 31.3 three pointers per game, which ranks sixth in the NBA. The Thunder rank 24th in three pointers allowed per game (30.5).
Oklahoma City ranks first in second chance points per game (15.1) while Boston ranks 17th (12.2).
The Thunder rank fourth in rebounds allowed per game (41.7) while the Celtics rank 20th (43.9).
Oklahoma City ranks 14th in points in the paint per game (44.3) while Boston ranks 29th (39.2).
The Celtics rank fourth in assists allowed per game (21.0) while the Thunder rank 17th (23.3).
Bettings Trends:
In their last five games, Oklahoma City is 4-1 ATS with 3 overs and 2 unders.
Boston is 3-2 ATS with 3 unders and 2 overs over their last five games.
The Thunder’s average margin of victory in their last five games has been 8.4, up from 3.3 for the season.
During their last five games, the Celtics have scored an average of 103.8 points per game (0.5 below their season average) and allowed an average of 104.8 points per game (4.4 above their season average).
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