Boston Celtics v Washington Wizards – NBA
In tonight’s match, Boston Celtics host Washington Wizards at TD Garden, Boston for their 2nd encounter this year.
Boston Celtics are coming into this match after suffering a defeat against Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The fact, that Boston was on a 3 game winning streak prior to that defeat only makes it that much worse for them. But today is a new day and a new opportunity for Boston to please their fans at TD Garden, where they are holding a respectable 3 game winning streak and have suffered only 1 defeat in the past 11 games. Looking at the match against 76ers, Boston was trailing by 2 points by the end of 1st quarter, but managed to bounce back before half time, with a (21:28) 2nd quarter, thus going into 2nd half of the match with a 5 point lead. 3rd quarter did not offer us much surprises as it ended relatively close (30:28), but 76ers were coming close. Despite trailing by 13 points at one point of the 3rd quarter, 76ers managed to get back up and almost caught up to Boston. Well in fact they did, soon after last 12 minutes started and they did not stop. With an excellent performance from 76ers, especially in 3rd and 4th quarter, they arguably deserved the win, and let Boston go home empty-handed. Top scorers: Horford (27pts), Saric (23 pts) and Covington (16pts).
Washington Wizards are currently not enjoying such a great run, compared to Boston. In the past 5 games, they have won 2 and loss 3 games. Wizards managed to win over Portland (124:125)(OT) and Chicago (112:107), whereas they failed to do the same against Minnesota (119:104), Dallas (107:112) and Charlotte (98:93). Away games are not where Wizards excel, but they do a fairly decent job. Currently ranked 5th best team in the East (15-17) when it comes to road games, they surely should not be underestimated. Let’s touch Wizards last match against Charlotte Hornets. The match against Charlotte Hornets was close from the start, with the lead bouncing from team to team. At least that was the case for the 1st half. In the 2nd half of the match Hornets performed better than Wizards, thus getting a 3 point lead prior to last 12 minutes. Charlotte managed to hold on to the lead for the remaining quarter, not letting Washington get any closer than 2 points. The match ended with a final score 98:93, which was 2nd consecutive defeat in road games for Washington. Top scorers: Zeller (19pts), Wall (19pts), Beal (18pts).
Verdict & Prediction
History of H2H matches between these two teams suggests that the team that is playing at home wins and that just might be the case tonight. Boston have been performing much better compared to Washington in recent matches. The “little hiccup” against 76ers should not affect Boston squad and I expect them to extend their winning streak at home stadium to four in a row.
Prediction; Boston Celtics -2.5
Odds: 1.87 SBOBET
