The Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics will match up in Boston for the first time in Game 3. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Nets-Celtics prediction and pick.
The Nets have dominated the series so far, winning both games by a double-digit margin to defend home-court in Brooklyn.
Boston will count on their home crowd to give them an edge tonight with their backs against the wall as they look to avoid a deficit no NBA team has ever come back from in a seven-game series.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the Nets-Celtics odds.
NBA Odds: Nets-Celtics Odds
Brooklyn Nets -8 (-110)
Boston Celtics +8 (-110)
Over 228 Points (-115)
Under 228 Points (-105)
Why The Nets Could Cover The Spread
The Nets have made it tough even to consider betting on Boston so far.
Brooklyn has dominated the Celtics for nearly every minute of the series, winning five out of seven quarters where their starters played. The Nets won three of those quarters by a double-digit margin.
The best sign for Nets fans and bettors is that Brooklyn gets the job done on the defensive end. The Celtics averaged 112.6 points per game in the regular season. They haven't met that total yet in the postseason.
Steve Nash's group held Boston below triple digits in Game 1 and to only 42.2% shooting and 108 points in Game 2. If this Nets group is clicking on defense, it's tough to see any team beating them, and most definitely not the offensively challenged Celtics.
Brooklyn looked a little shaky offensively to start the series, scoring 16 points in the first quarter of Game 1. This didn't last long. Brooklyn topped 30 in five of the next seven quarters, including a 40 point 1st in Game 2.
Unlike the defensive proficiency, it's not surprising to see Brooklyn thrive on the offensive end. The Nets scored the second-most points per game and had the best field goal percentage to go along with the second-best three-point percentage in the league.
Boston is not equipped to deal with three high-level scorers. There's no way that a Celtics defense that allowed the eighth highest shooting percentage from beyond the arc can contain Harden, Durant, and Irving, not to mention other sharpshooters in the line-up like Shamet and Harris.
Brooklyn is coming off one of their better shooting nights of the year in Game 2. It's difficult to see how Boston can slow this barrage of scoring, home-court or not.
Why The Celtics Could Cover The Spread
Boston will certainly be thankful to return to Massachusetts and the Celtics faithful after the beatdown in Game 2.
The C's were tabbed as underdogs five times on their home floor all year during the regular season. They covered the spread in four out of five of those games, winning three of those games straight up. This will be the largest spread the Celtics have received in TD Garden this year.
The biggest emphasis for Boston tonight will be getting enough scoring to keep up with the Nets machine.
One highlight for the Celtics from the first two games is that at least they're getting balanced scoring. Four Celtics reached double-digit scoring in both Games 1 and 2, and Jayson Tatum would've surely made it five in Game 2 if not for his early exit with an eye injury.
Boston has guys that can score, but they need a star to step up. This is where Tatum comes in.
If the Celtics want any chance of winning this game, they'll need a monster game from the man that is now the face of their franchise. In three regular-season games against Brooklyn, Tatum topped 30 points while shooting over 50% in two of them. At the minimum, Boston needs a performance like this.
Defensively, it's unlikely that the Celtics completely slow the Nets. However, they can do enough to keep this game close by chasing the Nets off the three-point line.
Since April, Brooklyn has topped 40% from the three-point line in 11 games. Over that span, they went 9-2.
The Nets are tough to beat when they are gunning from deep. The Celtics need to slow the flow of three-point shots to have a shot here.
Final Nets-Celtics Prediction & Pick
Overall, the Nets have too much firepower tonight to justify placing money on the Celtics. Brooklyn has looked unbeatable, and it's doubtful the home-court advantage will change that. Even if one of the Brooklyn Big Three is cold, the Nets should have enough scoring to win this one by double digits.
FINAL NETS-BUCKS PREDICTION AND PICK: BKN 118, BOS 104 (NETS -8)
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