New Orleans Pelicans at Boston: Celtics: Celtics -8.5
Both teams are coming off embarrassing losses to championship-caliber teams. The Pelicans got run out of the building in Milwaukee, but the more significant eye-opener was what the Clippers did to the Celtics on their home court. The Clippers held them to under 100 pts (96) and 36% shooting. The Celtics have only failed to reach 100 points once this season before this game (11/24 at Orlando).
The Pelicans should be fully healthy, while the Celtics could be without Porzingas again with an ankle injury. I am leaning toward the Celtics here; they were 20-0 at home before their two-game home losing streak and should have a chip on their shoulder after their shooting woes on Saturday.
New Orleans are 2-4 ATS in their last six games, and 1-4 ATS in their previous five games against Boston. Boston has a 9-point Home/Away scoring split advantage, plus the X factor in this game will be Boston’s rebounding advantage (#1 in the league) and making the shots they uncharacteristically missed Saturday night. A get-right match at home is in store for a team with the best record in the NBA.
Result: Pelicans Cover +2.5 ❌
