It’s the second meeting of the season between the NBA finalists from last season as the Boston Celtics host the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors had the edge in the first game, so can the Celtics respond playing in front of their home fans? You can catch the game live from 7:30 pm ET on TNT, and I’ve prepared a Same Game Parlay to spice things up a little.
Spread and total predictions for Thursday’s 5-game slate are also available in our NBA predictions, so be sure to head over there to see them. Let’s dive into my SGP now!
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The circumstances are fairly similar ahead of tonight’s game to those prior to the first meeting of the season. The Celtics are on a roll with 7 wins in a row, while the Warriors are still a terrible road team despite 2 wins in their last 3 away from home. Boston’s dominance has continued for quite some time, and following a 3-0 road trip they return to TD Garden where they are 17-5 SU this season. Their last 2 wins over Charlotte have been by double digits, despite not having Jaylen Brown at their disposal. Brown has been upgraded to questionable as he recovers from injury, so there is a chance we will get to see him play. The Celtics have 14 wins in 18 games against West teams, they are also on a 6-game home winning streak. An unproven Warriors squad surely isn’t a match for them, especially since they are still one of the worst road teams in the NBA. I mentioned 2 wins in 3 road games for them, but those games were against San Antonio and Washington. Klay Thompson missed the game at Washington, but he’s been upgraded to probable and should play. As motivated the Warriors were in the first meeting at Chase Center, I expect the same, if not more from the Celtics as they get revenge in front of their fans against the defending champs.
Losing to the Warriors in the Finals, but also in the first meeting of this season at Chase Center has surely left a bad taste in the mouth of Jayson Tatum. He had only 18 points in that game in early December, so it’s up to him to make amends tonight. Over his last 10 games he’s knocking down 33.7% of his threes, clearing this line in 2 consecutive games and in 4 of his last 6 outings. Only the San Antonio Spurs are worse than the Golden State Warriors are in perimeter defense this season on the road, allowing teams to shoot 40.9% from beyond the arc. The Washington Wizards just connected on 40% of their attempts against them, so the road team could be in a lot of trouble. Tatum’s attempts have also been up the last few games. He’s attempted double-digit threes in 5 of his last 6, that should continue if Brown doesn’t take part in tonight’s game. I’m expecting the Celtics to finish somewhere in the mid-120s, with Tatum putting on a show from deep.
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Stephen Curry had 32 points in the win over Boston earlier this season, he’s had some really strong performances against the Celtics over the years which is why I’m very optimistic he’ll have a good game. His last 5 regular-season games against Boston have seen him score 32, 3, 30, 47 and 38 points. I would disregard the 3 points game as he got injured early, so I think Steve Kerr can count on his points tonight. He just had 41 points in the win at Washington, and having Klay Thompson by his side in tonight’s game shouldn’t also be underestimated. He will never say it, but I’m sure not having to deal with Jaylen Brown on offense will also make his life much easier. Steph has connected on at least 5 threes in 6 of 8 games against Boston, and I don’t think they’ll have an answer for him tonight.
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