Celtics Look To Stay Hot At Home Vs Clippers

The Boston Celtics (16-18 SU, 17-16-1 ATS) host the Los Angeles Clippers (17-17, 15-19) on Wednesday at TD Garden in their second meeting of the season. The Celtics are 1-3 in their last four outings while the Clippers have just one victory in their last six games.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Celtics opened as 5-point favorites at home with the total set at 213.5 points. The OVER is 6-1 in the last seven meetings in Boston. Los Angeles is 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings while Boston is 0-4-1 ATS in its last five games against Western Conference opposition.

Los Angeles News & Notes

The Clippers fell 124-108 to the Brooklyn Nets in their most recent outing on Monday. James Harden led the way for Brooklyn with 39 points and 15 assists while Marcus Morris Sr. was Los Angeles’ top scorer with 24 points.

The Clippers were already struggling without Kawhi Leonard, who is still recovering from offseason knee surgery, and things got even worse this week when the club announced that Paul George will miss at least three to four weeks with a torn ligament in his elbow. The shooting guard was Los Angeles’ top scorer this season with 24.7 points per game.

Joining George on the injured list are Nicolas Batum (ankle) and Isaiah Hartenstein (ankle), as well as Moses Wright, Jay Scrubb and Reggie Jackson (health and safety protocols).

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Boston News & Notes

The Celtics dropped their second straight game on Monday in a 108-103 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jaylen Brown dropped 26 points and added 10 boards for a double-double while Payton Pritchard scored 24 points.

Boston has struggled mightily on the road this season with a 7-12 record away from TD Garden, which includes an active six-game losing streak. Luckily for the Celtics, they’ll be at home on Wednesday, where they are 9-6 in 2021-22, including 9-3 in their last 12.

Like the Clippers, the Celtics will be short-handed going into the matchup. Jayson Tatum, Justin Jackson, Dennis Schroder, CJ Miles, Enes Freedom and Bruno Fernando are all out in health and safety protocols. Marcus Smart (hand) is questionable while Josh Richardson and Sam Hauser (conditioning) are probable.

How Los Angeles Will Cover

With all the injuries, the Clippers are down to just two of their regular starters in Morris and Ivica Zubac. Morris has been good of late with three straight 24-point performances and he’ll likely have to carry much of the offensive load on Wednesday. The Clippers also boast the fifth-best defense in the NBA (105.3 points against per game), which bodes well for them against a mediocre offensive team.

How Boston Will Cover

The Celtics are the healthier of the two teams and won’t have to worry about many scoring threats with the loss of George. Brown has also been excellent over the past week, averaging 27.6 points per game over his last five outings. If Brown can have another good showing, the Celtics could cruise to an easy win.

Computer Pick: Celtics -5.5

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