The Boston Celtics will be hoping to rebound from a bad home loss to the Charlotte Hornets when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. The Celtics had been playing well before dropping that last game, so they’ll definitely like their chances against a banged-up Blazers team.
Will Boston bounce back and take care of business against Portland. Check out the rest of our Blazers vs. Celtics NBA picks and predictions for January 21 to find out.
Trail Blazers vs Celtics odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Depending on where you’re looking, the Celtics are favored from anywhere from 7.5 to 8.5 as of writing. The line opened with Boston as a 7.5-point favorite, so there has been some movement. The total has been bet down from 214 opening to 212.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Trail Blazers vs Celtics predictions
- Prediction: Celtics -7.5 (-110)
- Prediction: Under 212.5 (-110)
- Best bet: Tatum Over 3.5 Assists (-122)
Predictions made on 1/21/2022 at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Trail Blazers vs Celtics game info
• Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• Date: Friday, January 21, 2022
• Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ROOT SPORTS PLUS, NBC Sports Boston
Trail Blazers vs Celtics betting preview
Injuries
Trail Blazers: Larry Nance Jr. F (Out), Cody Zeller C (Out), Norman Powell F (Out), Nassir Little F (Questionable), Damian Lillard G (Out).
Celtics: Aaron Nesmith F (Questionable), Marcus Smart G (Questionable), Bol Bol C (Out), PJ Dozier G (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Blazers are 3-11 against the spread in their last 14 games as road underdogs. Find more NBA betting trends for Trail Blazers vs. Celtics.
Trail Blazers vs Celtics picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
The Blazers played well through three quarters against the Miami Heat last game, but they eventually failed to cover when the Heat turned things up on defense in the fourth. Look for the Celtics to follow a similar blueprint and really try to put pressure on this shorthanded Portland team. Boston is fifth in the league in defensive rating this season, so this group should be able to do exactly that.
Offensively, the Celtics have a bit too much talent for the Blazers to deal with, especially with some key players out for this one. Portland will have no answer for Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown in this game, and it wouldn’t be that surprising if Dennis Schroder and Robert Williams III joined in on the fun. Anfernee Simons is a great offensive player, but he could have trouble defending Schroder. Also, Williams’ athleticism might be tough for Jusuf Nurkic to contain around the basket.
Portland also happens to be just 6-14 against the spread as an underdog this season, and the team has lost those games by an average of 10.8 points per game.
Prediction: Celtics -7.5 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
On top of the Celtics being one of the best defensive teams in basketball this year, the team is also just 24th in the league in pace of play on the offensive end. That means that this Boston group takes its time on one end and defends like crazy on the other. That’s always going to make the Under an enticing play, but it’s especially appealing in this game. The Blazers also happen to play somewhat slow, as they’re 19th in the league in pace. They’ve also gone Under the total in five of their last seven games.
It’s also worth noting that the Under is 20-8 in games in which Boston is favored this season. That record improves to 15-4 for the Under when the Celtics are favored by 3.5 to 9.5 points. In that second situation, the average total points scored in those games was 202.8.
Prediction: Under 212.5 (-110)
Best bet
The last time Tatum faced this Blazers team was back on December 4, when the young star had 31 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes of action. And while that type of scoring performance might not happen again — his point total is 25.5 tonight — he should be able to hit the four-assist mark.
Boston puts the ball in Tatum’s hands a lot, with the wing being ninth in the league in usage rating. Against an unorganized Portland defense, Tatum should have no trouble getting his teammates good looks.
Also, while Tatum is averaging 3.7 assists per game this year, he’s had just three in each of the last two games. He should look to get the rest of his squad involved and top his recent output in a game in which he can afford to spread the ball around.
Pick: Jayson Tatum Over 3.5 Assists (-122)
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