A clash between the top teams in the NBA will be the talk of the town as the Oklahoma City Thunder make a rare trip to “Bean Town” to battle it out with the Boston Celtics. Join us for our NBA odds series where our Thunder-Celtics prediction and pick will be revealed.
On the heels of a dramatic last-second victory over the New York Knicks, OKC's confidence is through the roof with only a handful of games remaining in the regular season. As the youngest team in all of the NBA, the Thunder are way ahead of schedule and are a serious threat to whoever wants to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy by season's end. Overall, OKC holds a half-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for the top seed in the Western Conference with a 52-22 record.
Meanwhile, the team with the best record in all of the NBA enters play winning back-to-back games after dropping two-straight in rare fashion. As it stands, the Celtics are a well-oiled machine that has all of the pieces to go on a championship run and win their first championship since 2008. Most recently, Boston handled their business with a 118-104 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
Here are the NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Thunder-Celtics Odds
Oklahoma City Thunder: +8.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +295
Boston Celtics: -8.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -370
Over: 227.5 (-110)
Under: 227.5 (-110)
How to Watch Thunder vs. Celtics
Time: 7:30 ET/4:30 PT
TV: ESPN
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Thunder Could Cover The Spread/Win
Just when you thought the Thunder were going down in defeat to the Knicks, it was MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat when he sank a tough and contested jumper in the final seconds to give OKC the one-point victory. Behind the masterful skill of SGA is a talented supporting cast that is as deep as any other unit in basketball. More specifically, the success rate from beyond the arc is extremely evident. As a whole, the Thunder shoots an effective 39.1% from downtown which ranks near the top of the NBA in that category. While Oklahoma City may be known for their athletic and slashing play style, don't be alarmed if OKC starts filling it up from deep.
On the other side of the floor, OKC is certainly no slouches defensively either. In general, the Thunder have extremely active hands that can often translate into steals and blocks. Currently, Oklahoma City averages 8.3 steals per contest and also rejects roughly 6.6 shots with the block per game as well. Without a doubt, this is as complete as a team that basketball has to offer, and despite some doubters who have question marks about their lack of experience come playoff time, no one wants to square off with the Thunder when they are playing at their best.
Why The Celtics Could Cover The Spread/Win
Is this the year Boston finally gets over the hump? Only time will tell especially when the postseason begins a few weeks from now, but many individuals who follow this Celtics squad closely are aware that they may be the deepest team in the league. With the addition of mismatch nightmare Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday to shore up the defense, Boston is clearly the team to beat in the Eastern Conference at the very least.
In a very similar style of play as the Thunder offensively, the Celtics love to fire up threes at a superb rate. In fact, Boston often times lives and dies by the three. Fortunately, the C's usually thrive from deep as they connect on 38.9% of their attempts from beyond the arc. Whenever Boston gets hot from three, it's almost game over for the opposing team. Simply put, when it rains, it pours.
One underrated aspect about these Celtics is the fact that they love to do the dirty work on the glass. From the 1-5 positions, nearly every name on this roster has the ability to rebound the basketball at a high level. Overall, Boston on average hauls in 46.5 rebounds per game which is the second-most only to the Golden State Warriors. By dominating the glass and having their way in the form of lethal perimeter shooting, then the chances are high that Boston will be too much to handle for Oklahoma City.
Final Thunder-Celtics Prediction & Pick
In this epic showdown that may result in a three-point barrage between the top two shooting squads from trey-land, making the effort to get out and defend may be the difference in this one. Ultimately, the Celtics own the top home record in the NBA at 32-3 and rarely fall short at TD Garden. Not to mention, but the absence of guard Jalen Williams due to a banged-up ankle will be costly for the Thunder. Take Boston and don't spend time thinking differently!
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Final Thunder-Celtics Prediction & Pick: Celtics -8.5 (-110)
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