NBA Odds: Slumping Celtics Betting Favorites Against Wizards At Home

The Boston Celtics will be looking to snap a season-high four-game straight-up losing streak when they entertain the visiting Washington Wizards on Friday as heavy 9-point favorites on the NBA odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Boston is coming off a 97-92 loss to the visiting Portland Trail Blazers as 2.5-point home chalk, and now has tallied 97 or fewer points in three of its past four outings ahead of Friday night’s Wizards vs. Celtics betting matchup at TD Garden.

The Celtics’ current SU slide extends a slump that has left the team with just two victories in its past eight outings. Home cooking has provided no comfort to the team, which posted outright losses in three of four on home court, all while pegged as betting favorites. That has contributed to the Celtics’ slide on the Eastern Conference standings, where they now sit alone in fifth place, 10 1/2 games back of the first-place Milwaukee Bucks.

But while the Celtics have struggled on the hardwood, they have managed to maintain a position of strength on the NBA futures, where they continue to trail only Milwaukee and the Toronto Raptors as a +230 wager to win the Eastern Conference, and join the Philadelphia 76ers as a +1000 bet on the NBA championship odds.

And despite their recent struggles, the Celtics have been steady producers at home this season. With 23 home wins to date, Boston is poised to easily surpass last season’s overall total of 27 SU wins. But against-the-spread victories have been few and far between for the Celtics in recent weeks, with the team going 8-13-1 ATS in its past 22 games overall, and 4-6 ATS in its past 10 home dates.

The Celtics also have fallen to outright defeat in their past two at home while favored by seven or more points, and are 2-5 ATS in their past seven. The team also has produced sub-par results in recent dates with the Wizards, going 4-5 SU in nine regular season meetings since January 2016.

Washington also has struggled in recent outings, and limps into Boston with just four SU victories in its past 13 overall games. The Wizards are coming off a morale-lifting 125-116 win in Brooklyn as 5-point underdogs Wednesday.

With that victory, the Wizards put the brakes on a four-game SU slide, which included three straight losses on the road. However, Washington has managed to record consecutive road wins on just one occasion this season while compiling a 26th-ranked 8-24 SU away record.