Celtics at Wizards NBA Betting Lines & Game Prediction - February 8th

Celtics at Wizards NBA Betting Lines & Game Prediction – February 8th

Written by on February 8, 2018

If you saw last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals between the Celtics and Wizards, then you know these franchises don’t much like each other. They square off in the NBA on TNT first game Thursday night with the Wizards as slight home NBA betting lines underdogs.

Celtics at Wizards NBA Betting Lines & Game Prediction – February 8th

When: Thursday, 8 PM ET Where: Capital One Arena, Washington DC TV: TNT Stream: NBA League Pass Radio: WBZ-FM 98.5 (Boston) / 1500 AM (Washington) NBA Betting Lines: Wizards -2 (-110)

Season Series

The rivals have just one meeting thus far, coming on Christmas Day from Boston. The Wizards prevailed 111-103. Bradley Beal scored 25 points, and John Wall had 21 points and 14 assists, and the Wizards handed the Celtics a loss in the team’s first Christmas Day home game in franchise history. That seems impossible to believe. Otto Porter Jr. added 20 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 16, helping Washington take the first meeting between the teams since Boston’s Game 7 victory at home in the second round of the playoffs last spring. Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum each scored 20 points for the Celtics, and Terry Rozier had 16. Boston will become the first team Washington has ever played 300 times in the regular season in this game. Washington will play the Celtics four times this year for the third season in a row, the first time since 2009-2012.

Why Bet on Boston?

The Celtics rarely play two bad games in a row, but they come off a terrible one, a 111-91 loss in Toronto on Tuesday that could have ramifications on whether the Celtics or Raptors get the East’s top seed. Kyrie Irving was back from his quad injury but played just 22 minutes and finished with 17 points, three assists and two 3-pointers. The Raptors blew the game open in the second quarter and it was mostly a garbage-time contest after that. Irving had missed three straight. Al Horford hit just 1-of-5 shots for two points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 24 minutes. No starter played more than 24 minutes other than Jaylen Brown, who got 27. Marcus Morris returned from his hip injury on Tuesday and hit 4-of-13 shots and two 3-pointers for 12 points, two rebounds and one assist. Greg Monroe is expected to make his Celtics’ debut on Thursday in Washington. Monroe opted to join the Celtics, even after his hometown New Orleans Pelicans had offered him a starting job for the remainder of the season.  The 6-foot-11 Monroe is on his third team this season, starting the season with the Milwaukee Bucks and later traded to the Phoenix Suns for point guard Eric Bledsoe. Having managed a buyout from the Suns, Monroe was coveted by several teams, but chose the Eastern Conference leaders.

Why Bet on Washington?

The Wizards had won five straight games since All-Star guard John Wall was lost to a knee injury – he’ll miss eight weeks – but that came to an end in a 115-102 loss at Philadelphia on Monday in the second of a back-to-back. “We had a nice run,” Washington coach Scott Brooks said of the winning streak. “We have to try to regroup and come back on Thursday.” Bradley Beal lead the Wizards with 30 points but Washington shot 26 percent (7-for-27) from 3-point range. Since Dec. 27, Washington is shooting 38.4 percent from three, the third-best percentage in the league in that span.  He recorded his 10th game this season with 30 points and is now one of 16 players in the league to have at least 10 games with 30+ points. Beal now needs only three more games with 30-or-more points to tie his 13 total games from last season. Beal added seven rebounds and five assists for his third 30-7-5 game of the season.

How Well Did the Other Players Do?

Are the Wizards a safe bet in the NBA betting lines? Tomas Satoransky hit 2-of-6 shots for six points, two rebounds, three assists and two steals in 22 minutes. He has been starting in Wall’s place but is averaging just 5.5 points, 4.5 assists and 1.5 3-pointers over his last two. Marcin Gortat played 17 minutes and hit 2-of-4 shots for four points, two rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block in Tuesday’s loss. He had scored in double figures in four straight games. Gortat might not be with the team Thursday night as he is reportedly part of trade talks. Several teams have shown interest, but the Wizards are looking to improve their team now while not taking on additional long-term money. Washington has expressed interest in LA Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. Gortat has one year and $13.5 million left on his contract. Jordan can opt to be a free agent this summer. If Gortat is with the team, this would be his 137th consecutive start without missing a single game, the third-longest active streak in the NBA. He is attempting to be the third player in franchise history to shoot at least .575 from the field in multiple seasons.

Latest NBA Betting Lines Trends

  • Boston is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
  • Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
  • The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston’s last 6 games
  • Washington is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
  • Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
  • The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington’s last 7 games

Expert Prediction & NBA Betting Pick

The last five games of the series have alternated wins for each team. That happens here with Boston winning and covering.