NBA Odds: Boston Celtics vs Charlotte Bobcats Preview & Pick
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Boston Celtics vs. Charlotte Bobcats
Date: Monday, February 7, 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, Carolina
Broadcast: CSNE, SS
Celtics vs. Bobcats lines from Bodog.com
Celtics: -4.5
Bobcats: +4.5
Total: 182.5
Check Out Our Indepth NBA ATS Betting Stats For This Game —>
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The Charlotte Bobcats are suffering through a brutal rough patch, and the chances of ending their funk on Monday night don’t look great—they face the powerhouse Boston Celtics.
Charlotte (21-29, 23-25-2 ATS) has just one win in its last five games. The Bobcats have lost back-to-back contests, falling to Miami and Friday and Dallas on Saturday. They’ll finally get a break against some weaker teams after taking on the Celtics.
Obviously, the team’s biggest problem has been facing some excellent competition. Still, the Bobcats need to find a way to score more points. They averaged just 90 points in the past five games, with a high of just 97. Clearly that’s not enough to get it done.
Getting more points from the bench would make a tremendous difference. Charlotte’s reserved managed just 20 points thanks to a brutal night shooting the ball; the bench made just eight of its 21 field goal attempts. Shaun Livingston scored 10 points—his highest total since Nov. 27—but he made just three of his nine field goal attempts.
Stephen Jackson, the team’s leading scorer (18.9 points per game), had been riding an impressive hot streak, but he might be cooling down. Jackson averaged 29.3 points in his three games before facing the Mavericks, but he made just five of his 17 field goal attempts against Dallas and finished with 17 points. Jackson might just be showing signs of fatigue, as he’s played at least 41 minutes in three straight starts.
The Celtics (RECORD) could face some fatigue issues of their own, as they’ll be playing for the second time in as many days. Boston hosted Orlando on Sunday afternoon before quickly turning around to head to Charlotte. Boston blew out Orlando 91-80 on Sunday. The team has won three of its past four games, though is just 2-2 ATS in that span.
Considering Charlotte’s scoring woes, the game could get ugly. Boston owns one of the NBA’s premier defenses—if not the best—so the Bobcats are going to have to pray they’re red-hot or that Boston is exhausted.
Boston is a terrible mismatch for Charlotte. The Celtics have won nine of their last 10 games against Boston, although the Bobcats have been just fine against the spread, covering five of those games. The clubs have played twice this season; Boston won both times, although Charlotte covered in a 99-94 loss in mid-January.
A big standout for Boston lately has been Kendrick Perkins. He just returned from injury on Jan. 5. He came off the bench for the first five games but has started past the two, and he’s given the club some very solid minutes. Perkins picked up his third straight game with double-digit rebounds against Orlando.
It’s tempting to take the Celtics because of their dominating defense and Charlotte’s struggles to put points on the board. Charlotte often gives Boston a good go against the spread, however, and Boston is playing on back-to-back days. Boston isn’t dominating right now (5-3 in the past eight games) and the Celtics may struggle a little bit to get “up” for the game. Go with the underdog, hometown Bobcats.
Trends:
BOS are 5-12-1 ATS in their last 18 Mon. games.
CHAR are 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 Mon. games.
Boston at Charlotte pick: Bobcats
Ian Van Den Hurk has covered amateur and pro sports for years, including a successful run handicapping anything from football to mixed martial arts.
