Free NBA Pick: Nets vs. Celtics NBA Odds
Looking for Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics free NBA picks & NBA odds? NBA betting sees the Nets taking on the Celtics on Wednesday, April 20th, 2022 at TD Garden. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NBA basketball matchups so stay tuned for more FREE daily NBA hoops predictions like this Nets Celtics matchup.
2022 NBA Playoffs Handicapping Round 1
(0-1) Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics (1-0)
Date: Wednesday, April 20th
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Venue: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
NBA Moneyline Odds: Nets +145 | Celtics -149 (Bet Now!)
NBA Betting Odds: Celtics -3.5
NBA Betting Total: 226
Game two between the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics tips off on Wednesday with the Bean Town crew up 1-0 in the series via a 115-114 victory.
Of the eight first-round playoff series the most anticipated was this one and the teams lived up to the hype in the opening game with the outcome decided at the buzzer.
This isn’t the typical 2-7 match-up more like two teams you’d expect to see in the Conference Finals and is a good bet to go the distance to decide the series.
The Celtics won the 2021-22 season series 3-1 with victories on February 8th (126-91), 24th (129-106), and March 6th (126-120) while the Nets won on November 24th (123-104).
Boson also holds the all-time advantage having won 134 times of the club’s 207 meetings however Brooklyn has the playoff edge having won all three prior series including the 2002 Conference Finals (4-2), 2003 Semi-Finals (4-0), and 2021 first round (4-1).
Brooklyn Nets
There’s no love lost between Kyrie Irving and the fanbase of his former team. And while I don’t condone the fans who scream obscenities or push the envelope too far how the enigmatic guard chose to deal with the adversity was equally questionable.
Irving was fined $50k for his own colorful language and use of his fingers to send the bird salute. Don’t get me wrong the rivalry is great — except it should be between the two teams, not with the fans.
Kyrie seemed to use the controversy using it as motivation but he likes to instigate and irritate the fans too. For example, the time he stomped on the head of the infamous Lucky the Leprechaun logo at center court.
The superstar claimed he was responding in kind but before the game even started he put his hand over the camera crew trying to do their job. After the game heading to the locker room, a fan yelled “Kyrie you suck” and Irving’s response was to use NSFW language.
The point is athletes expect to get heckled – and Irving can shout back if he wants or point out fans who go too far to security, but instances like the above two are simply stoking the fire.
His superstar partner Kevin Durant took a more mature and professional approach to the situation framing it as fans who once loved Irving and are hurt he left.
As for what happened on-court, Irving was brilliant with 39 points on 12 of 20 from the field and 6 of 10 from deep along with five rebounds, six assists, four steals, and a block.
Cohort Durant was less efficient (9 of 24) drawing more double teams but still scored 23 points
Ben Simmons (conditioning) remains out but was cleared for contact and may make his debut mid-series. Joe Harris (ankle) is out for the season.
Boston Celtics
The last few days have served up plenty to celebrate with the Game 1 victory via a Jayson Tatum buzzer-beater and on Tuesday learned Marcus Smart had won Defensive Player of the Year.
Smart is only the sixth guard to win the award and the first since 1996 by Gary Payton who was on hand at practice to deliver the news.
While Irving and Durant combined for 62 points, the other three Nets starters combined for 22 points and highlighted the lack of depth for the Nets.
In contrast, four of the five Celtics starters reached double-figures with Tatum leading the way dropping 31 points and eight assists. Jaylen Brown filled up the stat sheet with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks.
Smart led the defense but was pivotal offensively as well with 20 points along with the heads-up pass to Tatum for the game-winning lay-up. Perhaps the biggest surprise was vet Al Horford who delivered a massive double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds.
The latter was made more significant given forward Bruce Brown’s comments citing the absence of Robert Williams and suggesting that would make for easy buckets in the paint facing Horford and Daniel Theis.
Robert Williams III (meniscus) was projected to miss four to six weeks but the Celtics are suggesting he might return mid-series.
NBA Betting Trends:
- The Nets are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog.
- Boston is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
- The Nets are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games.
- The Celtics are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 2 days’ rest.
- Under is 4-0 in the Nets’ last 4 games playing on 2 days rest.
- Over is 5-0 in Celtics’ last 5 playoff games as a favorite.
Free Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics NBA Prediction:
It’s not likely Durant will shoot 9 of 24 again but there are key areas that aren’t simple fixes for Steve Nash.
The Nets’ lack of size upfront equated to losing the rebounding battle 29-43 including 5 to 14 on the offensive glass and getting outscored 56 to 32 in the paint.
But the biggest issue ultimately comes down to defense. There is no doubt KD and Irving will be able to win some games even without much from their teammates offensively.
But, the Celtics demonstrated they’ll be able to get a key stop in clutch time while the Nets who aren’t a strong defensively struggle in that regard. If Simmons returns that dynamic could shift, but how it would impact the offense is an unknown.
It’s not a must-win game for Brooklyn, but expect the Nets stars to approach it as if it was, and even up the series.
4* Free NBA Betting Pick: Nets +3.5
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