Jayson Tatum and the reigning champion Celtics will host Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs at TD Garden on Wednesday night. This should be a fantastic game between the world champs, and a world-renowned individual talent.
The Sporting News has you covered with the NBA odds for this East vs. West showdown, along with some betting and prop recommendations hand-picked from the BetMGM online sportsbook.
Let’s get to the odds for this Wednesday night clash, then reveal our best bets, top props, and our final score prediction for Celtics vs. Spurs.
Celtics vs. Spurs odds, pick against spread
All odds and props are from BetMGM, an authorized gaming operator of the NBA.
- ATS: Celtics -8.5 (-115) | Spurs +8.5 (-105)
- Moneyline: Celtics -375 | Spurs +290
- Over/under: O 233.5 (-105) | U 233.5 (-115)
Boston sits as a 8.5-point home favorite against Wemby, De’Aaron Fox and the Spurs. The Celtics have won seven of their past 10 games, and most recently blew out the Heat and Knicks on the road.
Jaylen Brown (knee) and Jrue Holiday (shoulder) are game-time decisions for Boston. San Antonio will most likely be without backup big Charles Bassey (knee).
Celtics vs. Spurs best bets and final score prediction
The Spurs improved mightily at the trade deadline when they acquired Fox, a pesky point guard with fantastic scoring chops and ice in his veins at crunch time. And Wemby’s skill set speaks for itself. However, the Celtics are still a far better team than San Antonio.
It’s been a while since Boston went on a serious run, like the ones we grew accustomed to seeing last year on the Celtics’ path to an 18th championship banner.
MORE: NBA betting, explained: Guide to odds, types of bets, more
Joe Mazzulla’s squad has won nine of its past 12 games, and it seems to be gunning for the first-place Cavs. Cleveland sits 5.5 games ahead of the defending champs, certainly not an insurmountable gap with 28 games remaining in the regular season.
San Antonio has a below-average three-point defense, and outside of Wemby no big on this squad rebounds particularly well. If Kristaps Porzingis and company can at least hold the big Frenchman to 20/10, the Spurs will have trouble keeping up.
There also don’t appear to be any Spurs who can guard Tatum right now — he shot 50 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three the last time these teams met, and he’s shooting similarly while scoring a combined 73 points over his past two games in Miami and New York (50% FG, 42.3% 3PT).
Tatum explodes again, Wemby gets held in check, and the reigning champs notch their 10th win in 13 games.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Celtics 122, Spurs 111 — Boston wins and covers (-8.5), while the score goes just UNDER the projected total of 233.5.
Celtics vs. Spurs top player prop bet
De’Aaron Fox, PG, Spurs: 25+ points (+120)
Fox has yet to really explode for the Spurs since joining them at the trade deadline, but he’s shown signs that an explosion might be coming. He scored 30 in Washington his last time out — his new high as a Spur — and he’s been a certified Celtics killer in recent years.
Over his past two games against the Green team, Fox dropped 29 and 40. His combined field-goal percentage in those two games: 55.5 percent. His total threes: 13. San Antonio will lose this game, but we don’t think it will be due to a lack of effort on Fox’s part. Enjoy the plus odds here on a very winnable player prop.
