NBA Betting – San Antonio Spurs at Boston Celtics
San Antonio Spurs (-7.5, 205 o/u) at Boston Celtics
After a slow start to the season, the San Antonio Spurs (11-4) have won six games in a row and are moving their way up the Southwest Division standings. On Sunday, November 30, they will land in Boston to meet the struggling Celtics (4-9) at TD Garden (1:00 PM Eastern).
On Friday night, the Spurs dispatched the Kings at home. Tony Parker led the way with 27, while Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan chipped in with 19 and 18, respectively. On the same night, the Celtics dropped their third straight game, losing 109-102 at home to the Bulls.
The Celts led by six heading into the fourth, but their offensive uncharacteristically failed them late in the game, as they managed just 11 points in the deciding frame. They were unlucky enough to face the Bulls on a rare night when Derrick Rose was in the lineup.
Boston is averaging over 104 points per game on the season, and Rajon Rondo looks like a franchise point guard, averaging 10.7 APG (best in the league). But the Celtics are missing the defense to complement their prolific O; they are getting torched for 107.3 points per night, third-worst in the NBA.
They were hoping rookie and defensive standout Marcus Smart would be back against the Bulls, but the former Oklahoma State Cowboy was unable to return. Without (perhaps) their best defender, the Celtics were unable to hold Chicago to fewer than 24 points in any quarter on Friday. Smart has been ruled out for Sunday’s game, as well.
The Spurs are the polar opposite to the Celts. They average just over 98 points per game, but hold opponents to 92.7 (best in the league). The Spurs have won their last give against the Celtics, including the last three in Boston.
Even with home-court advantage, the Celtics are 7.5-point dogs. The Celtics have lost five in a row at home overall, but they have been within seven in the last four.
(Photo credit: Zereshk (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
