Celtics Installed As Favorite Over Thunder After Early Season Success

The Boston Celtics put together a 2-1 performance last week, and now find themselves sitting at 3-3 two weeks into the 2014-15 NBA season. The Celtics have three home games in the coming week, facing Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Cleveland on Friday, and Phoenix on Monday.

The Celtics currently are installed as a 5.5-point or 6-point favorite against the Thunder at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. This is the first time Boston has been favored against Oklahoma City since 2010. The Celtics are a bit of a surprise early on, sitting at 3-3 straight up and against the spread. Oklahoma City is off to a poor start, with a 2-5 SU record, although they are 4-3 ATS. The Celtics are 1-5 ATS in their last six games against the Thunder, and 1-4 ATS in their last five such home games.

The big news for Boston is they should have Rajon Rondo back in the lineup for all three home games. He had a screw removed from his hand and missed last Saturday’s game against Chicago.

The most notable NBA game Wednesday features the 6-1 Houston Rockets in action against the 2-4 Minnesota Timberwolves. The Rockets are a 6.5-point favorite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The two teams met four times last season, and the favorite claimed all four games against the spread, with Houston finishing the season 3-1.

Rivals square off as well with the 5-2 Miami Heat facing the 2-6 Indiana Pacers. Miami opened as a 10-point favorite, but the line has come down to eight points. Miami is 5-2 ATS this season, while the scuffling Pacers are actually 5-3 ATS. The point total is set at 190 points, and has gone OVER in five of the last seven between these two teams.

The biggest matchups of the next couple days comes Thursday when 7-1 Toronto hosts 6-2 Chicago, and 5-1 Golden State hosts 4-2 Brooklyn. Toronto is 6-2 ATS, while Chicago is only 3-5 ATS. The teams split their four-game series last season, both straight up and against the spread. Meanwhile, Golden State is 5-1 ATS, while Brooklyn is 3-3 ATS. The Warriors were favored in both matchups last season, but the two teams split both straight up and against the spread according to the OddsShark NBA Database.

Photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images