Winners of the six straight and tied for the conference lead, the Boston Celtics will have another tough test in front of them on Friday night, when they travel to Oklahoma to play the star-studded Thunder team in front of the national audience.
Celtics at Thunder
Spread: Oklahoma City -5.5 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 205 points (-110)
The Celtics win again, climb to 6-2
Early adversity has helped the Celtics to shift into another gear early on, but also speed up the development of younger player, who weren’t supposed to carry such a big load immediately. With the win on Wednesday against Sacramento, the Boston Celtics have already emerged as prime candidates to win East. They’ve won six games in a row, making the best out of a relatively easy schedule, but not only winning, but also improving their game.
On average, the Celtics are a full year younger than the Kings, yet Boston appears miles ahead in terms of development. After a relatively uneventful first quarter, during which the Celtics would create much separation, bench unit led by the backcourt duo of Rozier and Smart went on 18-3 run and the Celtics never looked back. But it was far from just the bench. The entire team played well. Jaylen Brown was impressive again, scoring 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, and added 6 rebounds. Irving continued his growth as the new leader of the Celtics, adding 22 points and 5 helpers. Both of them played just three quarters as the lead ballooned. As good as Brad Stevens’ club has been in recent years, defensive consistency has lacked, especially in critical moments. Against the Kings, everyone played their hearts out on the D as well (except during garbage time). The season is young, but if the Celtics can sustain high-level team defense, that could spell big things for Boston.
Marcus Morris is expected to play Friday night in Oklahoma City and his activation will knock somebody out of the rotation (who probably deserves to be playing), so it’s an added challenge for Stevens and his coaching staff, albeit a sweet one.
Place: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Date/Time: Friday, November 3rd, 2017. 9:30 PM ET
TV Coverage: ESPN
The Thunder well rested for new challenge
The Oklahoma City have also had a mini-overhaul to their roster, but the things haven’t gone as smoothly. Three Musketeers are learning how to play together as opposed to taking turns, and the Oklahoma City Thunder lost three of their first five games. The drubbing of the Bulls followed, and the best win of the season in Milwaukee on Monday. This gives the Oklahoma City Thunder three full days to prepare for another Eastern conference power-on-the-rise, the Celtics.
The 110-91 win in over the Bucks is easily the best game the Thunder had put together this season. They didn’t waste time and opened up a 20-8 lead in the first, and continue to build on it. Before halftime, it was 56-32 OKC. The lead continued to grow to as big as 28 points, and the Thunder weren’t even trying too hard after the break. The Thunder stars didn’t have to do much for once. Paul George scored 20 points, Carmelo Anthony had 17 and Russell Westbrook added 12. It was the absence of the sole Bucks star that made the difference – with Antetokoumpo picking up third foul early, the Bucks surrendered and the lead doubled. This doesn’t take much away from how OKC played. They shot 49.4 percent from the field as a team, aided by great inside-outside shot distribution. The bench guys looked very good as well, captained by veteran Raymond Felton, who had 9 points and 6 assists. They’ve cut down turnovers as well, mostly because they wouldn’t force the things.
After this Halloween rest at home and the game against the Celtics, the Thunder are back on the road, where they’ll play some interconference games. Visits to division rivals Portland and Denver are probably more important than this game, but it’s a high profile game in front of national cameras and the Thunder wants to continue the modest win streak.
Boston Celtics at Oklahoma City Thunder Game Trends & Prediction
The Boston Celtics have been pure gold this season, covering in all but one game so far. With a 7-1 record against the spread and impressive play, don’t expect them to be overlooked for much longer. In the total points market, the window has already been shut. The Celtics have not allowed more than 94 points during the winning streak (and only once more than 100, to the Bucks), and have started the season with 1-5 against the over/under. The bookies quickly adjusted and the last two lines were 193.5 and 195.5, and it resulted in two overs. They are now 3-5 for the season.
OKC is probably going to be overrated easily, and often, over the course of the entire season. As soon as they win, their stocks rise sky high, as the public wants their stars to win. However, they are much inconsistent to be trusted. They are 4-3 against the spread overall and 2-1 at home. It’s worse if you are expecting them to play attractive games with many points. The Thunder games have failed to reach the projected total points line on 5 occasions, with just two overs (both times against the Wolves).
Admi-Rank: These two are some of the finest NBA teams in the league, and each will probably rise even more as they smooth the edges out. The Celtics are the slightly better-ranked team, but this is unadjusted for the home court and the best advantage the Thunder have here.
This is going to be fun. It’s probably the most high profile game I’ve review for you in the last week or so, as the high profile meetings often draw too much attention of the public and the pros alike, prompting the books to be more careful about how they set up the lines. While I’m very pleased to see the Celtics grow, I have to reiterate that this game is going to be their biggest test since they played (and lost) in Milwaukee. The Thunder have a trio of very athletic players in Westbrook, George, and Adams, so the Celtics young wings won’t be able to succeed solely on their physique.
The bookmakers have opened up the market favoring the Thunder by 5.5 points, and also setting the total points O/U line to 205. To be honest with you, I really hoped to get a good price for the under here, but there’s not enough value to that it like this. My fair numbers for the points is 208, but I’m not going to hunt for the other side. The spread is too high, which came to no surprise. As the Thunder win, the books are jumping to fade any value and direct traffic both way. Don’t fret, the public will be on the Thunder, but the pro money will take them away plus the points.
My Pick: Boston +5.5 (-110)
Total: pass
