NBA – Celtics and Suns Highlight the Wednesday Night Schedule
NBA Wednesday Preview
Wednesday’s NBA betting schedule has 10 games on tap, including some monster matchups between Eastern and Western powers. Here’s a look at Wednesday’s must-bet games:
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Boston Celtics at Phoenix Suns
Even the NBA’s most savvy teams struggle on cross-country road trips. The Boston Celtics stunned their backers after dropping games to the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors earlier this week.
The Celtics, who had won seven of their last eight games heading into Sunday’s outing against Los Angeles, got careless with the basketball, totaling 38 turnovers in those losses and couldn’t buy a bucket from downtown. Boston has shot just 6-for-31 from beyond the arc in the last two games with reserve forward Rasheed Wallace going 2-for-11 in that span.
The Suns have thrown their hat into the ring in the West, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 118-103 as 1-point home underdogs Monday. Phoenix has been inconsistent in recent games, winning just twice in the last five contests while posting a 2-3 mark against the NBA point spread in that time.
The bench chipped in with 52 points against the Lakers, most notably small forward Jared Dudley. The former Boston College star poured in 19 points, while fellow reserve Goran Dragic added 14 points in the win. Phoenix’s bench averages just over 31 points per game, which is the 12th highest production in the NBA.
Miami Heat at New Orleans Hornets
Miami is starting to heat up after winning three games in a row and five of its last six contests. The Heat’s most recent win was a 114-80 thrashing of the Indiana Pacers, which Miami covered easily as an 8.5-point favorite. The Heat are 8-4 against the spread this month heading into Wednesday’s road run.
Dwyane Wade scored 25 points in that win over Indiana, bumping him to fifth in the NBA in scoring with an average of 26.8 points per game. But while Wade is scoring at will, the talented shooting guard is focusing on limiting his turnovers. He’s averaging only three turnovers a game this season after posting numbers close to five in the past few years.
New Orleans comes into Wednesday’s game fresh off a road swing to Houston. The Hornets had lost two of their last three heading into Tuesday, most recently falling to the Chicago Bulls 96-85, and failed to cover in each of those games.
New Orleans needs more scoring from point guard Chris Paul. He’s averaged just 15 points in the past three games and has scored fewer than 16 points seven times in the last 10 games since he came back from an ankle injury. Paul’s assist production is also down, dishing out just seven assists in each of the past three games after averaging almost 11 this year.
Philadelphia 76ers at Sacramento Kings
The Sixers are hoping to break even on their current six-game road trip, which has them out west on Wednesday. Philadelphia has been a solid bet on the road this year, posting a 10-6 mark against the spread including its 104-93 win over the Portland Trail Blazers as 6-point underdogs Tuesday.
The 76ers got veteran guard Allen Iverson back in the lineup after he missed four games with a knee injury. Iverson scored 19 points, dished out five assists, and grabbed four rebounds in 31 minutes of playing time. Elton Brand also had a big game, coming off the bench for 25 points and nine rebounds.
The Kings are coming off a big victory of their own. Sacramento took a 106-101 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night, giving backers their 19th payday of the season. The Kings are playing tough basketball, taking the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers to overtime last week, which followed back-to-back wins over Chicago and Milwaukee.
That stretch of solid play has helped Geoff Petrie, president of basketball operations, earn a multi-year extension. Petrie is hoping star rookie guard Tyreke Evans comes back from a knee injury soon. The first-year standout leads the Kings in scoring and assists but sat out Monday’s win over Denver. He is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s home game.
