The Boston Celtics (20-4) owners of the best won-loss record in the NBA Eastern Conference, will face another stiff challenge Thursday (8 PM ET, TNT) when they return home to TD Garden Arena to play the talented Atlanta Hawks, a team in the thick of a Southeast Division battle with Miami and Orlando.
The Celtics, who are coming off an emotional 118-116 rivalry SU win versus the Knicks Wednesday night in New York's Madison Square Garden, will at least be playing before a friendlier crowd back in Boston. Oddsmakers at super-sportsbook Bodog.com and most offshore sports betting sites, list the Celtics as slight 7-chalk favorites versus the Hawks with a 187 total.
The Celtics were favored by 4 1/2-points against the Knicks, but were overlined as road favorites failing to cover the chalk. It will be interesting to see how the Celtics fare tonight following Wednesdays exhausting victory.
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The Hawks, who've enjoyed some success versus the Celtics, especially in the 2009 playoffs when they took Boston to the limit before bowing out, will come into TD Garden Arena with confidence. Tonight's game is the second straight on the road, as they fell to the Pistons at the Palace in Auburn Hills on Tuesday. The Hawks were 4 1/2-chalk road favorites in the game but lost SU 103-80. No doubt Hawks players would love to clear out the bad taste of Tuesday's debacle with a road win against the Celtics. The Hawks were embarassed by the Celtics in their last meeting back on Nov.22 at home in Atlanta losing by 23 and failing to cover the point-spread as a 3-chalk favorite.
Early betting trends show the public firmly backing the Celtics in side betting with 72 percent of wagers giving the chalk, while 97 percent of players betting on Boston to win SU. In totals wagering 53 percent of wagers placed are for the game total to go OVER the posted 187 points.
Boston has been tough to beat at home, going 10-1 SU and 4-6 ATS. The Celtics have gone 5-0 SU in their last five home games, and over their last six home dates, have split 3-3 in covering the betting spread. The Hawks have fared well on the road so far by going 8-5 SU, but only 3-4 ATS.
NBA Picks: The Hawks must have been looking beyond in their Tuesday outing against Detroit. I expect Atlanta to put up a stiffer challenge tonight when they play the Celtics, but it won't be enough. I expect Boston gets a SU win and covers the 7-chalk.
