Losers of five of their last six games, the Boston Celtics look to get back on track when they visit the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
Tuesday, March 5 at 10:30 PM ET
ORACLE Arena
Coverage: TNT
*All odds and betting info courtesy of OddsShark and originally posted by Bookmaker
- Boston Celtics at Golden State Warriors (-8 at -110)
- Over/Under: 229.5 (at -110)
Recent Takeaways
The Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak with a 120-117 win over a Joel Embiid-less 76ers team last Saturday night, getting payback from a 113-104 home loss against them a little over a month earlier. Klay Thompson missed the game with a sore knee and he will not play tonight. Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 34 points on Saturday and DeMarcus Cousins added 25.
The Celtics got 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists from Kyrie Irving and 19 points from Al Horford but it still wasn’t enough and the Rockets beat them at home 115-104 last Sunday. Boston held James Harden to 14 of 31 shooting and nine free-throw attempts but they were inefficient with the ball, shooting 48.1 percent (37-for-77) for the game and just 28.6 percent (8-for-28) from 3-point range.
X-Factor
Gordon Hayward is averaging just 5.2 points in his last five games, shooting a poor 30.8 percent from the field in 23.2 minutes, including scoring just six points on 3 of 7 shooting in 18 minutes against the Rockets.
Hayward has to step up his game more than any other player in this team. The Celtics can’t beat the Warriors or even be competitive tonight unless Hayward has a productive evening.
Celtics vs. Warriors Trends and Prediction
The Boston Celtics are:
- 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a double-digit loss at home
The Golden State Warriors are:
- 1-7 ATS in their last eight games following an ATS loss
- 1-8 ATS in their last nine games after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game
- 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games overall
- 0-6 ATS in their last six games following a straight up win
These two teams met in Boston on January 26 and the Warriors won 115-111 in a hard-fought contest. Kevin Durant finished with 33 points and nine rebounds for the Warriors, Stephen Curry scored 24 points and Klay Thompson added 21 while Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 32 points and 10 assists and Al Horford had 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Golden State outscored Boston 22-11 in fast break points and that could prove to be a deciding factor once again. The Warriors will miss Klay Thompson but this game will come down to Gordon Hayward, he had just two points on 0-for-5 from the field over 22 minutes in the first meeting and if he doesn’t find a way to contribute the Celtics have no chance. I’m not asking him to carry the team but he has to show up and I believe he will come out looking to prove himself.
Pick: Celtics +8
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Celtics vs. Warriors Prediction: Betting Odds, Line & Pick