Celtics vs Warriors Predictions & Odds (Dec. 10)
- The Boston Celtics are 2.5-point road favorites vs the Golden State Warriors Saturday night
- This is a rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals, which the Warriors won in six games
- Read below for our Celtics vs Warriors preview and betting prediction
The Boston Celtics (21-5, 10-3 away) visit the Golden State Warriors (13-13,11-2 home) on Saturday night at 8:30pm ET. This is the first meeting between the two teams since they duelled in the NBA Finals earlier this year, which the Warriors won in six games on the back of an historic performance from Steph Curry.
Jayson Tatum is at the forefront of NBA MVP odds with Boston owning the best record in the NBA. Curry has been playing at an incredibly high level, too, averaging 30 points per game.
Golden State enters this game with a massive discrepancy between their home and road records, having gone 11-2 at Chase Center and the exact opposite away from their homecourt.
Boston has the best net rating in the NBA at +8.8. The Warriors are 14th by the same metric.
Celtics vs Warriors
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | -2.5 (-112) | -142 | OFF |
| Golden State Warriors | +2.5 (-108) | +120 | OFF |
Odds as of December 09 at FanDuel.
The Celtics are 2.5-point favorites and -142 on the moneyline. Boston has the best record against the spread in the Association at 17-9, while the Warriors languish at 12-14 overall.
Dominant Two-Way Celtics
Entering this game on an 8-1 run, the Celtics are frequently blowing teams out, with seven of those wins coming by nine or more points.
Their defense ranks 11th in the NBA, but they have been trending in the right direction at that end of the floor. Only three teams can better their defensive rating over the last 10 games.
Across that same period, they are scoring 2.9 points per 100 possessions more than any other team, too. Jaylen Brown has a knack for picking up the slack when Tatum has a rare quiet night.
Boston is a high-powered offense, shooting the third-most threes per Cleaning The Glass, and hitting over 40% of them (which is the best mark in the league). They are also the league leaders in free-throw percentage, and place 10th in turnover rate to go with a top-10 assist rate.
.@BeckyHammon says Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the BEST duo in the NBA 👀 pic.twitter.com/xLmve0WzPc
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 8, 2022
Joe Mazulla has guided the Celtics to this incredible start even with Robert Williams III still on the shelf. Their defense isn’t as stifling as it was last season, yet they are still doing a great job at stopping opponents getting to the rim and limiting three-point attempts. They are in the top five in opponent free-throw attempt rate, too.
Warriors Continue to Struggle on the Road
Golden State has a -8 net rating on the road, which places 27th in the league. They blew a lead to the Utah Jazz in the final seconds a few days ago, and lost to the Indiana Pacers in the game before.
Steph Curry was asked at the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Awards how long he thinks he can play, his response: “I don’t see myself slowing down any time soon.” At 34-years-old, Curry is averaging 30ppg while shooting 50/43/91 #dubnation pic.twitter.com/TjclHXNNzR
— Kylen Mills (@KylenMills) December 9, 2022
The Dubs remain without Andrew Wiggins and Andre Iguodala, while Steph Curry and Draymond Green are both listed as day-to-day for this game.
Much of the Warriors’ struggles can be attributed to their defense. Against a Celtics team which gets up a lot of threes, it is a concerning sign that Golden State ranks in the bottom 10 in opponent three-point rate. They are also guilty of fouling excessively, which the Celtics (who shoot 84.4% from the stripe) will take advantage of.
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Celtics vs Warriors Prediction
These teams have gone in opposite directions since Game 6 of the Finals earlier this year. Golden State has found itself lost between the current and future. Boston has bolstered the depth around its star wing duo, and picked up where it left off at the end of the 2021-22 regular season.
With Wiggins sidelined and uncertainty over Curry and Green, the Warriors are going to really struggle here. Wiggins’ absence is particularly important given how he guarded Tatum/Brown in the Finals.
Take Boston to cover again.
Pick: Celtics -2.5 (-112)
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Sam Cox is a freelance writer and sports junkie, who has spent the past several years immersed in the online gaming industry. He has worked with 888sport, Oddschecker, and Colossus Bets to name a few. Based in the UK, Sam also runs Franchise Sports with his brother.
