The Boston Celtics welcome the Los Angeles Lakers to TD Garden on Friday evening. The long-time rivals match up in front of a national audience, and both are in need of a win. Los Angeles has lost three of the last four games, with Boston losing two of the last three contests. Jaylen Brown (hamstring) has been ruled out for Boston, while Robert Williams (knee) and Dennis Schroder (ankle) are questionable. LeBron James (abdominal) is also listed as questionable for Los Angeles after missing more than two weeks, while Anthony Davis (thigh) is probable.
Caesars Sportsbook lists Boston as a 2.5-point favorite for this 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff. The total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, or the over-under, is 213 in the latest Lakers vs. Celtics odds. Before making any Celtics vs. Lakers picks or NBA predictions, be sure to check out what SportsLine's advanced computer model has to say.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $9,000 in profit on its top-rated NBA picks over the past three-plus seasons. The model enters Week 5 of the 2021-22 NBA season up over $900 on all top-rated NBA picks this season. It's also on a stunning 113-75 roll on top-rated NBA picks against the spread that dates back to last season. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has locked in on Celtics vs. Lakers and released its picks and predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are several NBA odds, betting lines and trends for Lakers vs. Celtics:
- Lakers vs. Celtics spread: Celtics -2.5
- Lakers vs. Celtics over-under: 213 points
- Lakers vs. Celtics money line: Celtics -135, Lakers +115
- LAL: The Lakers are 6-10 against the spread this season
- BOS: The Celtics are 8-6-1 against the spread in the last 15 games
Why the Lakers can cover
The Lakers have three stars and, with James out of action recently with an injury, Los Angeles has leaned on Russell Westbrook and Davis. Westbrook is averaging 19.4 points, 8.8 assists and 8.4 rebounds per game, giving the Lakers a lot of juice in transition on the offensive end. Davis is the team's most prominent interior presence, averaging 23.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, and he is a transcendent defensive player with the ability to play near the rim or on the perimeter.
With Davis and Westbrook on the floor and James potentially able to return, the Lakers have strengths on both ends, but they also may benefit from Boston's shortcomings. The Celtics are No. 23 in the NBA in field-goal percentage (43.9 percent) and No. 26 in 3-point percentage (32.3 percent), with a bottom-tier mark in averaging 22.6 assists per game. Boston is also allowing the second-most free-throw attempts (17.1 per game) in the NBA on defense.
Why the Celtics can cover
Boston's defense has been outstanding this season. The Celtics are allowing opponents to shoot just 43.8 percent from the floor and 33.0 percent from 3-point range, while also limiting the opposition to just 21.3 assists per game. Boston is also above-average in steals (8.1 per game), blocks (6.0 per game) and turnovers created (15.3 per game). The Lakers are currently the second-worst team in the NBA in protecting the ball, committing 17.1 turnovers per game.
Boston is No. 2 in the league in second-chance points allowed (10.7 per game) and solidly in the top five in limiting opponents to 11.0 fast break points per game. The Celtics aren't fantastic on offense as currently constructed, but Boston is above-average in free- throw attempts (20.1 per game) and free-throw accuracy (79.4 percent). Los Angeles is a bottom-five defense in assists allowed (25.8 per game) and free-throw attempts allowed (22.8 per game), both of which could help Boston.
How to make Lakers vs. Celtics picks
SportsLine's model is leaning under on the total. The model also says one side of the spread hits in almost 60 percent of simulations. You can only get the model's picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Celtics vs. Lakers? And which side of the spread hits in almost 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread, all from the model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.
