The Boston Celtics will be looking to tally consecutive straight-up wins for the first time in over two weeks when they embark on a five-game western road trip on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers as 7.5-point betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Boston posted a character 103-99 win over the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers as 1.5-point home chalk on Wednesday, but has earned just two SU wins in its past five outings going into Friday night?s Celtics vs. Lakers betting matchup at Staples Center.
The Celtics have spent considerable time on the road in recent weeks, with seven of their past 10 games and seven of their upcoming nine contests happening away from TD Garden.
Boston came away with three SU and against the spread wins in a recent four-game western swing, including outright victories as betting underdogs over the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz, but recorded SU and ATS losses in recent visits to Toronto and Chicago.
While the Celtics? current 13-4 SU run has lifted them into sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference standings, just three games back of Cleveland, the club has turned in mediocre performances at the sportsbooks, covering in just five of their past 14 outings, according to the OddsShark NBA Database.
Boston has also produced uneven results in totals betting since seeing the OVER prevail in 12 straight games over Christmas and New Years. The total has gone OVER just once in its past seven games overall, and twice in its past seven road dates.
The Celtics have taken two straight from the Lakers, including a 113-107 win as 11-point home chalk on Feb. 3, but have failed to reward bettors in recent road meetings with Los Angeles, posting just one SU win in their past five visits and failing to cover in each of their past four.
However, the team faces a Lakers squad struggling to break out of a SU and ATS slide that lengthened to five games with a 109-104 loss to the Charlotte Hornets as a 5-point home underdog on Tuesday night.
Los Angeles has covered just once in seven games since ending a 6-0 ATS run, and is a dismal 4-16 SU in its past 20 games overall.
Following Friday night?s contest, the Celtics travel to Phoenix on Sunday before returning to Staples Center to face the Clippers on Monday. Boston has taken three straight SU from the Suns, and is 3-1 SU in its past four visits to the desert, but has fallen by an average margin of 17 points in four straight road losses to the Clippers.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
