Los Angeles Lakers vs Boston Celtics betting tips and predictions for Tuesday’s NBA game on TNT. The two most successful teams in NBA history meet up tonight at crypto.com arena as the Lakers host the Celtics. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Los Angeles Lakers
After a 6-game road trip which ended with 3 wins and 3 losses, the Lakers finally return home where they’ll play their first game in almost two weeks. The energy levels will be high after such a long time away, they’ll need everything they can get from their crowd in order to beat the heavily favored Celtics. The win over Detroit was a nice way to end the road trip, Anthony Davis delivered yet another big performance with 34 points and 15 rebounds, while LeBron James led the scoring with 35. Although they are just 6-6 at home this season, the Lakers have covered in 4 of their last 5 home games, and are 6-3 ATS in their last 9 overall in December.
Boston Celtics
Boston finds itself in unfamiliar territory tonight after consecutive losses against the Warriors and Clippers. This team is yet to lose 3 games in a row, but after losses by 16 and 20 points in their last 2 games, their confidence has taken a hit. Jayson Tatum has cooled off in both losses, last night he had just 20 points on 7-for-20 shooting.
Jaylen Brown led the scoring with 21, while Malcolm Brogdon added 18 off the bench. The Celtics three-point shooting was once again an issue as they converted on just 9 of 39 attempts. It should be a bit easier against the Lakers who are allowing 36.7% threes over their lats 3 games. Even though the last 10 meetings have been split between the two teams, Boston has had the upper hand in covering the spread, doing so 7 times during that stretch.
It’s hard to imagine these Celtics dropping their 3rd game in a row after such a hot start to their season. They are still 16-4 SU in their last 20 games, 6-1 ATS in the last 7 vs the Lakers and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 overall. Time for them to bounce back here, so let’s back the road team to cover.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Boston Celtics Predictions & Odds
The scoring will have to go down here if the Celtics want to get out of LA with a win. Their last 2 opponents have scored 123 and 113 points, while Boston finished with an average of 100 points in those 2 losses. Playing the Lakers should result in more points, as that’s just how LA approaches games these days.
They lead the league in pace averaging 103.1 possessions per game, so slowing down the tempo will be key here. The last 10 Celtics road games have all gone under the total, mainly due to their stellar performances on the defensive end. That is also one of the reasons why they are 10-5 SU away from home, one of the best marks in the entire NBA. The last 10 meetings have averaged 225.6 points per game, which is well under tonight’s projected total of 233.5 points. I’m not expecting a lot of points here, so let’s go with the under.
