Score Prediction: Celtics 112 – Nets 109
NBA Pick: Nets +8 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
The Brooklyn Nets will hit the road to take on an inconsistent Boston Celtics club tonight. The Nets games have been high scoring, but the Celtics games have been lower-scoring, despite two overtime games. What should we expect tonight?
Let’s see what the NBA odds tell us at the top sportsbooks.
Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics
Wednesday, February 01, 2023 – 07:30 PM EST at TD Garden
The Brooklyn Nets will head to the TD Garden to take on the Boston Celtics tonight.
The Nets are still waiting for Durant to be cleared to play, but they’ll have Kyrie Irving, who has held it down most recently.
Meanwhile, Ben Simmons is also dealing with a knee injury and won’t be playing in tonight’s game. He’s become more of a role player and less of an all-star as of late. That won’t bring the Nets down too much.
On the other hand, the Celtics are playing without Marcus Smart right now. However, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are still doing their thing for the Celtics, holding a 36-15 record.
Can the Nets upset the Celtics on the road? Here are our betting picks and predictions for Wednesday’s NBA matchup between the Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics.
The Nets Offense Won’t Do The Little Things
The Nets are scoring 116.6 points per 100 possessions this season. That’s due to the Nets shooting an effective field goal percentage of 58.6%.
Brooklyn will also limit turnovers against a Celtics bunch that has earned just 12.8% of turnovers this season. However, the Nets only earn 21.7% of offensive rebounds and are 25th in free throw rate this season.
The Celtics have held teams to just 24.1% of offensive rebounds and are the best team in defensive free throw rate this season.
The Nets earn their points by shooting high-quality looks. They won’t earn many second-chance points or many foul shots, but the Celtics have also been one of the better defenses in the league, holding teams to 111.7 points per 100 possessions. Opponents have only shot a 53.4% effective field goal percentage.
There’s a good chance that the Nets don’t get as many high-quality looks in tonight’s game.
Free Throw Shooting Will be X-Factor for Celtics
The Celtics are doing what the Nets have been doing. The offense has averaged 118 points per 100 possessions while shooting an effective field goal percentage of 56.3%.
Boston has limited turnovers but still struggles on the offensive glass, earning 24.1% of offensive rebounds.
The difference will be foul shooting. The Celtics have a 21.9 free throw rate, which is 11th in the league. Meanwhile, the Nets have allowed a 22.4 free throw rate on the defensive end. That’s 23rd in the NBA.
The Nets might earn a couple more turnovers in this game, but they’ll still get stops against the Celtics, as they’ve held teams to 113.1 points per 100 possessions and an effective field goal percentage of 52%.
Brooklyn hasn’t been great on the defensive glass either, giving up nearly 30% of offensive rebounds. The Celtics aren’t aggressive on the offensive end on the glass, but could end up with more second chances with how poor the Nets have been on the glass.
The Final Verdict
The Nets are just trying to keep things together without Kevin Durant. They’ve won their last two games and three of their last five. Brooklyn has added at least 120 points in each of their last five games and has allowed at least 115 in four of five games. They’ve been playing high-paced basketball and trying to outscore opponents.
But analytically, both defenses have been good at limiting good shots. Neither team will kill on the offensive glass, and turnovers will be lower on both sides.
The Celtics just snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over the Lakers, 125-121. They’ve now played two straight overtime games, and before those two games, they were held to 99 and 96 points.
Boston’s not playing very elite basketball. Last night was good, but overall, they’ve been inconsistent. The Nets have been scoring a lot more, but on the road, you’d have to figure the scoring starts to slow down against the Celtics.
The Picks
The Nets should cover the +8 against the Celtics in this one. Boston’s been in way too many tight games recently. They’ve played in back-to-back overtime games, lost their previous two before that, and even before those four games, the Celtics beat the Raptors by two points.
For my other pick, I’d consider the Under 226.5. Boston’s offense has been inconsistent, and now, coming off two straight overtime games, fatigue might start to set in, especially after last night’s game against the Lakers.
I’ll back the Nets +8 and the Under 226.5. And if you're located in Brooklyn and planning on placing your wagers for this game, don't forget to go over our New York betting guide.
NBA Pick: Under 226.5 (-110) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
