Filip Tomic
Mondays are usually a busy night in the NBA and tonight is no exception as 22 teams hit the hardwood after only four games on Sunday. The action will tip-off in Washington between the Wizards and Pacers, but we are more focused on the duel which you can watch live on NBA TV between the Boston Celtics and New Orleans Pelicans. Let’s have a look at what are the best bets for this East vs West showdown and be sure to check out our full game preview for picks on the side and total.
Over 230.5 Total Points (-110)
Brandon Ingram to record 25+ Points (+106)
Zion Williamson to record Over 27.5 Points (-116)
Jayson Tatum to record Over 38.5 Pts + Reb + Ast (-104)
Parlay Odds: +1334
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Over 230.5 Total Points (-110)
Boston’s offensive efficiency has gone through the roof this month, they are the fourth team in the NBA at 117.8. Their three-point shooting has improved to 40.4 percent which ranks second in the NBA. Naturally when a team is focus on offense they tend to relax on the other end, the same applies here as the Celtics have dropped their Defensive Rating to 115.6 in March. They traded away Daniel Theis leaving a big gap in the middle, which Zion and co. should exploit here. The first meeting of the season finished 120-115 in favor of the Pelicans.
Brandon Ingram to record 25+ points (+106)
In his last four games Ingram has had two outputs of 30 and 36 points, he can light it up when it matters and that’s exactly the case tonight against the Celtics. He has been a reliable option for the Pelicans all season long scoring 20+ points in 35 of 45 games. Against the Celtics earlier this season he had 33 points on 50 percent shooting helping his team come back from a 24-point deficit and win that game.
Zion Williamson to record Over 27.5 Points (-116)
Zion has been an absolute monster in the last couple of weeks. He’s averaging 29 points, 6.7 rebounds and four assists on 67.1 percent shooting while doing it all for the Pelicans. He’s averaged 32 points over his last five and is coming off 39 and 38 point efforts against the Nuggets and Mavericks. As we said earlier, with Daniel Theis gone he can have his way on the inside because nobody on the Celtics roster can stay in front of such a big guy. He’s scored 28 points against the Celtics earlier this season on 11/21 shooting from the field.
Jayson Tatum to record Over 38.5 Pts + Reb + Ast (-104)
Jaylen Brown averages 24.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Celtics this season, but he’s out of tonight’s game with a hip contusion. Other players will be much more involved with him being out. I expect the majority of the Celtics offense to go through Jayson Tatum. He has had two solid games in a row, scoring 34 points against the Bucks and 27 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He has also had four three-pointers in each game so his game from distance is on. He’s averaging 6.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists this season which is a career high for him, he should have no issues reaching those numbers with Brown being out. In the first meeting of the season between the two teams Tatum was the leading scorer for Boston with 32 points and he grabbed nine rebounds plus two assists.
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