Brooklyn Looks To Continue Recent Success vs Boston

The Brooklyn Nets enter the postseason with a perfect 5-0 SU and ATS record over their last five games. The Nets will start their NBA postseason with the first game of a best-of-seven series against the Boston Celtics this Saturday night in Brooklyn.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Celtics opened as 7.5-point favorites in Saturday’s series opener and have since settled in as 8-point home favorites. Bettors pounded the OVER to move the Sportsbook line of 225.5 points all the way up to 229.5 points. The UNDER is 3-0 in the last three meetings between these two teams.

Boston News & Notes

Boston entered its play-in game against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night as a 2-point favorite at home. The red-hot Wizards were a popular upset pick in that matchup, but Jayson Tatum scored 50 points and Kemba Walker added 29 more to lead the Celtics to a 118-100 blowout win to punch Boston’s ticket into the postseason.

Now the Celtics are tasked with trying to upset the favorites to win the NBA Championship without their second leading scorer. Jaylen Brown was enjoying the best season of his career in 2021 averaging 24.7 points, six rebounds and 3.4 assists per game before being forced out of action for the rest of the season with a wrist injury. Boston went just 3-5 SU and 4-4 ATS down the stretch without him.

Brooklyn News & Notes

James Harden has played in only three games since the beginning of April due to a hamstring injury. Harden returned after over a month off on Wednesday, May 12 and scored 18 points and 11 assists in 26 minutes of play in a 128-116 win over the San Antonio Spurs. He also played 25 minutes with five points and seven assists in a 105-91 win over the Chicago Bulls the following Saturday.

Harden’s health is really the only question mark the Nets have coming into this postseason. Brooklyn finished the season with a 48-24 SU and 38-34 ATS record despite Kevin Durant (35 games) and James Harden (36) each playing in only half of the team’s games. If Durant, Harden, and Kyrie Irving all manage to stay healthy, this Brooklyn super-team is clearly the one to beat in 2021.

Betting Pick: UNDER 229.5 points

The last three games between the Celtics and Nets have produced an average of 220.3 points per game. With Jaylen Brown out and the added emphasis on defense that the postseason brings, this first game should stay UNDER the posted total.