The Boston Celtics visit the AT&T Center to take on the San Antonio Spurs. The game gets underway at 8:30 pm ET on Saturday, Dec. 5 and will air on CNE and FSW.
The Spurs easily got past the Grizzlies 103-83 on Thursday. Kawhi Leonard led all scorers on the team with 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting. The Celtics, meanwhile, are coming off a 114-97 win over the Kings on Thursday. Isaiah Thomas stood out, accumulating 21 points, nine assists, and six rebounds.
Points could be at a premium in this matchup between two of the league’s elite defenses. The Spurs rank first in the NBA in defensive efficiency (92.4), while the Celtics are third (97.2). It will also be a tale of two tempos, as the up-tempo Celtics are ranked third in possessions per game, with the slow-paced Spurs at 27th.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Spurs won the first game 95-87. LaMarcus Aldridge recorded a double-double with 24 points and 14 rebounds.
The Spurs are a heavy nine-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 194 points. The Spurs look to build on their records of 16-4 Straight Up (SU) and 13-7 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 7-2 SU and 6-3 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference. San Antonio has an edge in the rebounding department for this game, where they rack up an average of 46.5 rebounds per game. Few teams in the league have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than San Antonio, which ranks third at 1.79. As for the San Antonio defense, teams have to fight for open shots against the Spurs, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the league at .416. An area where the Spurs are particularly strong is shot blocking, where they average 6.5 blocks per game, fourth in the NBA.
Across the court, Boston has a SU record of 11-8 and an ATS record of 10-9. In Western Conference games, Boston has gone 3-2 SU and ATS. When it comes to stealing the ball, the Celtics are the best in the league with an average of 11.4 steals per game. Boston makes opponents pay for turning the ball over, ranking second in points off turnovers with an average of 21.7 per game.
With the Spurs’ last win against Boston, their SU record against the Celtics moves to 8-2 over the last 10 meetings. Additionally, the Spurs lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-2-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Bos, ATS Winner – Bos, O/U – Under
Notes
San Antonio is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of San Antonio’s last 9 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Antonio’s last 5 games at home.
San Antonio is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
San Antonio is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Boston.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Antonio’s last 6 games when playing Boston.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Antonio’s last 6 games when playing at home against Boston.
San Antonio is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games when playing at home against Boston.
San Antonio is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against Boston.
Boston averages a solid 102.6 points per game this season. However, San Antonio is the top-ranked team in points allowed, giving up just 88.5 points per game.
Boston puts up 101.8 points per away game this season. However, San Antonio is the top-ranked team in points allowed at home, giving up just 83.7 per game.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Spurs are 15-1 on the season. When the Celtics score fewer than 100, they are a subpar 2-5.
The San Antonio Spurs have a losing 1-3 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Boston Celtics are 9-3 when they hit triple digits.
The Celtics have a defensive rating of 97.2, third-best in the NBA. The Spurs also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 103.2 (ranked 11th).
San Antonio averages fewer possessions per game than Boston, with 95.8 compared to 101.3. However, the Spurs score an average of 1.032 points per possession, more than the 1.013 that the Celtics score.
The San Antonio Spurs have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking sixth in the league with an EFF% of 50.9%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Boston Celtics have a poor 2-5 record.
Boston ranks near the top of the league in assists at third (24.8 assists per game). San Antonio is ranked fourth, with 24.8 assists per game.
San Antonio makes an average of 6.5 blocks per game (ranked fourth), while Boston makes 4.6 blocks per game (ranked 19th).
San Antonio is ranked 26th in offensive rebounding. Boston ranks 27th in defensive rebounds.
Making 11.4 steals per game, Boston is ranked first in the NBA. San Antonio has a winning 2-1 record when it gives up at least 11 steals.
