Oklahoma City Thunder vs Boston Celtics Prediction, Picks and Props January 3
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Boston Celtics Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his predictions and prop picks for tonight’s Oklahoma City Thunder vs Boston Celtics clash from the Fiserv Forum. The Thunder are dead last in the Southwest Division standings while the Celtics sit first place in the Atlantic Division.
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Oklahoma City Thunder vs Boston Celtics Betting Odds
| Tuesday, January 3 | NBA Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Oklahoma City Thunder +8.5 vs Boston Celtics |
| Total: | 233.5 Points |
| Arena: | Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK |
| Game Time: | 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT |
| TV: | NBC Sports Boston |
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Boston Celtics Betting Analysis
The Boston Celtics visit the Oklahoma City for an interconference showdown with the Thunder on Tuesday night. The Thunder are coming off their second straight loss 115-96 at home against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Celtics watched a four game winning streak fall by the wayside in a 123-111 loss in Denver against the Nuggets. This is the second and final meeting of the season after the Celts prevailed 126-122 in Boston on November 14th. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PST from Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Celtics Bounce Back Spot
The Boston Celtics record dipped to 26-11 on the season after losing in Denver on New Years Day. Boston was outshot 40-87 (46%) to 45-79 (57%) from the field and 9-33 (27.3%) to 17-30 (56.7%) from three-point land.
Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 30 points along with 8 rebounds. Jayson Tatum was right behind him with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists while Derrick White was the only other Celtic in double digits with 13 points.
The Celtics lead the entire league in scoring with an average of 118.6 points a game on 47.9% from the floor. Their defense is improving as they now rank 7th in defensive rating and 13th in defensive scoring with 112.4 points allowed per game. Robert Williams III is the only Celtic listed on the injury report and listed as questionable due to left knee injury management.
Thunder Struck At Home
The Oklahoma City Thunder record dipped to 15-21 on the season after losing to the 76ers at home on Saturday. The Thunder were absolutely dominated in the paint, being outscored 66-42 and out-rebounded 56-50.
Josh Giddey led Oklahoma City in scoring with 20 points and rebounding with 9 boards. Jalen Williams added 17 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was held to only 14 points on 4-15 from the field.
Oklahoma City sits at 11th in scoring with 115.2 points a game on 45.9% from the field. They also rank 11th in defensive rating but rank 25th in defensive scoring with 116.8 points allowed per game.
Aleksej Pokusevski will be out 6-8 weeks after fracturing his left leg. Outside of that, the Thunder have a clean injury report, a breath of fresh air nowadays.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Boston Celtics Player Prop Prediction
The Boston Celtics are 9 point road favorites over the Oklahoma City Thunder with a total of 233.5. Both sides are looking for a bounce back, but the Celtics obviously have a major advantage in this one.
This is definitely a spot where Boston will be focused to bounce back and that includes Jayson Tatum who has scored 30+ points in 5 of 9 games after a loss this season.
Tatum had 25 points last game while not hitting a three pointer and only firing 16 shots. The Thunder already had little to no rim protection and they are even thinner now with Pokusevski.
Tatum has a point total of 30.5 and he has scored 31+ in 16 of 23 games where he has taken 20+ shots. I fully expect a high volume from Tatum tonight to push him up and over this point total.
Prediction: Jayson Tatum Over 30.5 Points -125 Draftkings
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NBA Tip-Off Show | January 3
Join Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of professional handicappers for the NBA Tip-Off Show as we preview tonight’s NBA card from a betting perspective. We’ll go well beyond the Oklahoma City Thunder vs Boston Celtics. Stay up-to-date on the latest NBA news, stats, analysis, and predictions with our panel of pro sports bettors as they offer some of their favorite NBA best bets, player props and DFS recommendations on tonight’s slate.
NBA Free Picks
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WagerTalk’s Live Odds Screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NBA point spreads, totals and betting percentages for all of this week’s NBA action, including this Oklahoma City Thunder vs Boston Celtics showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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Meet the Author
Andy Lang has lived in Indianapolis his whole life, and like most people from the Hoosier State, he became fascinated with motor sports. That interest in motor sports turned into a desire to make money off the sport through fantasy contests and sports betting. Like most, he took his lumps when he first got started, but now he is one of the most respected NASCAR bettors in the industry. Andy has expanded that sports betting experience to become profitable in a number of other sports, transforming this interest from a side hobby to a major source of income.
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