Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers 12/07/2021 NBA Odds and Predictions

The Boston Celtics travel to Hollywood to take on the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center on Tuesday night.

Boston 13-11 SU on the season and they are in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, 3.5 games behind the Brooklyn Nets. The Celtics are currently the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference if the playoffs began today. They have won six out of their last 10 games and head to L.A. after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 145-117 in Portland last December 4th.

Los Angeles is just 12-12 on the season and is the 4th ranked team in the Pacific Division, 8 games behind the league-leading Golden State Warriors. Los Angeles is also 6th in the Western Conference if the postseason were to begin today. Los Angeles lost to their cross-town rivals Clippers 119-115 in their most recent game last December 3rd.

The Celtics won six out of the last 10 meetings between these two teams, including a 130-108 blowout in Boston last November 19th.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics blew out the Blazers in their most recent outing. Boston built a 15-point lead at the end of the first quarter and never took their foot off the gas pedal the rest of the way. The result was a 28 point blowout that brought their road record to 7-7 on the season.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics attack with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists while Dennis Schroder added 31 points and 8 assists. Boston also got a big lift from Payton Pritchard who scored 19 off the bench. Meanwhile, Marcus Smart contributed 17 points while Aaron Nesmith scored 11 in a reserve role.

Boston is 13th in the league in scoring at 108.9 points per game. They are the no. 4 rebounding team in the NBA at 46.5 boards grabbed per contest and are just 20th in passing at 22.7 dimes per contest. The Celtics are 15th in scoring defense at 106.5 points per game allowed.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are coming off another tough loss in their last outing as the Purple and Gold were beaten 119-115 by their cross-town rival Clippers. The Lakers never led in the game but neither were they blow out. Still, the Clippers won round one this season and the Lakers drop to 12-12.

LeBron James returned from the COVID-19 protocol and scored 23 points and 11 rebounds. Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 27 points and 10 rebounds while Russell Westbrook only had 10 points but 9 assists in the losing effort.

Los Angeles ranks 4th in the NBA in scoring at 111.7 points per game. The Lakers are 6th in the league in rebounding at 46.3 boards grabbed per contest and 7th in passing at 24.5 assists per game. However, the Los Angeles scoring defense is ranked just 29th at 113.4 points per game allowed.

Who Wins?

The Celtics are 6-3 SU in their last nine games played. Boston is 2-3 SU in their last five games played on the road. The Lakers are 4-6 in their last 10 games played. Los Angeles is 1-3 SU in their last four games played at home.

Head to head, the Celtics are 8-4 SU in their last 10 games played against the Lakers.

Boston has been scoring an average of 111.2 points per game in their last 10 games played with Tatum averaging 25.2 points and 8.8 rebounds and Schroder putting up 19 points and during that span as well.

Los Angeles meanwhile has conceded an average of 115.6 points per game in their last 10 games and they are just 4-6 SU during that span. The Lakers have scored just 113.6 points per game during that period.

Meanwhile, their defense continues to fail them this season as Los Angeles ranks next to last in scoring defense. Given Boston’s strong play as of late and the Lakers’ struggles, I’m picking the Celtics to pull off this ‘upset’ even without Jaylen Brown.

Prediction: Boston Celtics

Other Bets to Make

The Celtics are 6-1 ATS in their last seven road games against an opponent with a winning home record. Boston is 5-1 ATS in their last six games as an underdog, 5-1 ATS in their last six road games as an underdog, and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games after allowing more than 100 points in their previous game

The Celtics are also 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games when their opponent allows more than 100 points in their previous game, 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games when playing on two days rest, and 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games played overall.

The Lakers are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games played overall. Los Angeles is 8-21 in their last 29 home games, 6-19-1 ATS in their last 26 games as betting favorites, 5-16 ATS in their last 21 games as home favorites, 1-6 ATS in their last seven games when their opponent allows 100 or more points in their previous game, and 1-8 ATS in their last nine games against an opponent with a winning SU record.

The Celtics have been scoring almost three points more than their season scoring average in their last three games. Boston put up 130 and 145 points in their last two games and this improved scoring will be a problem for a Lakers team that ranks second to the last in the entire league in scoring defense.

Jaylen Brown is still listed as day-to-day and may not play in this game. But with Schroder and Payton Pritchard stepping up the last time out, they rained 145 points on the Blazers. The Lakers have blown hot and cold on offense and you just don’t know what to expect from them on a given night. I’ll take the plus points and the Celtics here.

Prediction: Celtics +3

The total has gone over in five out of the last nine games played by the Celtics. Boston has seen the total go over in four out of their last five Tuesday games played, and 3-1-1 in their last five games after a straight-up win of more than 10 points.

The total has gone over in each of the Lakers’ last four games after a straight-up loss. The over is 5-0-1 in their last six games as betting favorites, and 4-0-1 in their last five games as home favorites, 4-0-1 in their last five home games.

The over is also 6-1 in their last six games against an opponent with a winning straight-up record, 4-1 in their last five games after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game, and 4-1 in their last five games overall.

The over is 15-9 in the Lakers’ 24 games played this season and it won’t take rocket science to know why. Los Angeles ranks 4th in the league in scoring and are next to last in scoring defense so most of their games this season have been track meets.

The Celtics have favored the under overall this season but in their last two games, they have hit the over by scoring 130 and 145 points. The total has also gone over in seven out of the last eight meetings between these two teams and the over is also 4-0 in their last four games in Los Angeles.

Prediction: Over 217.5

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