Celtics Look to Return Streak-Busting Favor vs Rockets

The Houston Rockets used an 11-point home win over Boston to kick-start their current five-game winning streak and they'd love to extend it Saturday as they travel to TD Garden for the much-anticipated rematch. The Celtics have won two straight and remain in the hunt for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference despite having dealt with a rash of injury woes.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Celtics come in as 1.5-point favorites, which could actually play into their favor (as we'll explain later.) The total is set at 230.

Houston Rockets News & Notes

There's no shame in having James Harden burn you but the Celtics have to be particularly irked at the fact that Harden was sensational in just about every facet in that 116-105 Rockets triumph on Feb. 11. Harden erupted for 43 points while knocking down seven 3-pointers, going 17-for-18 from the line and adding eight rebounds and seven assists.

But things might be considerably more challenging this time around for Harden, who averages 35.3 points per game away from Toyota Center. The Celtics allow the eighth-fewest points per game at home (106.9) while also ranking inside the top-10 in three-point success rate against (34.0 percent) and opponent field goal makes (38.8) and attempts (86.5).

Boston Celtics News & Notes

It wouldn't be a 2019-20 regular-season game if the Celtics weren't missing one of their starting five and Saturday's matchup is no different, with point guard Kemba Walker expected to miss his fifth consecutive game with a knee injury. Walker last played in that loss to the Rockets but didn't look like himself, settling for 14 points on a dismal 5-of-17 shooting.

Jayson Tatum also struggled in that defeat but has looked like a completely different player since. The Celtics' scoring leader (23.3 ppg) is averaging an out-of-this-world 35.4 points per game over the previous five outings and is the most significant reason why Boston has been great both straight-up and against the spread over that span.

Betting Pick: Boston SU

This has the makings of being a tightly-contested affair and with the Rockets just 3-4 in games decided by three points or fewer, we have a little more confidence in the home team to pull this one out.