NBA Odds: Celtics Heavy Betting Favorites Vs. Hawks In Saturday Matinee
The Boston Celtics will be looking to post consecutive wins at home for the first time since early February when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday as 10.5-point favorites on the NBA odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Boston opened a three-game homestand with a 126-120 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, marking the club’s fourth win in six overall outings going into Saturday afternoon’s Hawks vs. Celtics betting matchup at TD Garden.
The Celtics’ recent surge has kept them in the hunt for third place in the Eastern Conference standings, where they remain alone in fifth place, two games back of the Indiana Pacers. However, the team has struggled to produce steady results at TD Garden, posting just three straight-up wins in their past seven outings after claiming victory in 13 of their previous 14.
Following a recent road trip that produced positive results, the Celtics will be looking to get back on track at home. The team impressed during a four-game California swing, posting outright wins over the Kings, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Lakers, and has potted 111 or more points in each of its past five overall.
Unfortunately, that has not been enough to produce steady results for bettors, with the Celtics failing to cover in their past two, and now sporting a 3-6-1 record against the spread over their past 10 games.
The Celtics must now face a Hawks squad that arrives in Boston riding a two-game SU win streak. Atlanta closed out a four-game homestand in dominating fashion on Wednesday, routing the Memphis Grizzlies 132-111.
But while the Hawks have enjoyed a stellar run at the sportsbooks, paying out on the NBA odds in 10 of their past 13 contests, wins on the scoreboard have been far less common. With Wednesday’s win over the Grizzlies as 1.5-point home underdogs, the Hawks have now strung consecutive wins together just twice during a 13-21 SU run since New Year’s Eve, and have won three in a row on just one occasion this season, back in mid-December.
The Hawks have also enjoyed little success in recent regular-season clashes with Boston. The Celtics have taken six of seven SU from Atlanta since the start of last season, going 5-2 ATS according to the OddsShark NBA Database, including a crushing 129-108 win in Boston as 12-point favorites back on December 14.
Following Saturday’s contest, Boston closes out its homestand with a Monday visit from the Denver Nuggets. The Celtics are 6-3 SU in their last nine meetings with the Nuggets, but fell 115-107 in Denver as 1.5-point underdogs back on November 5.
