Phoenix Suns at Boston Celtics
Wednesday, 3/2/11, 7:30 PM EDT, TV: NBA TV
Opening Point Spread: Boston -7
Current Betting Line: Boston -6.5
Opening Total: 197.5
Current Total: 198
Phoenix is playing solid basketball in making a run to gain a playoff spot in the Western Conference race and faces the Boston Celtics for the second time this season Wednesday night. The Suns have won 11 of 14 games and are just a win away from tying their season high with five straight victories. At 31-27, the team has played fewer games than the rest of the pack fighting for lower seed positioning and have moved within a half-game of idle Memphis for eight place in the West. It’s important to point out that the squad has just one more loss than fifth-place New Orleans with 24 games remaining. Phoenix is 15-13 ATS as an underdog this season and currently getting points on the NBA lines page.
The Suns possess an even 14-14 overall mark on the road, including a 7-5 record against Eastern Conference opponents. Phoenix has won three-straight games over Boston, the longest active win streak against them by one opponent. In fact, the club is 4-3 against the “Big Three”, joining Orlando as the only teams with winning records against the current Eastern champs in that span. The team is a season-best four games above .500 for the first time during the 2010-11 campaign and 4-0 since the All-Star break. The Suns current starting lineup is 16-7 on the season, which is the best record of any lineup the team has sent out this year.
Boston returns home from a successful 3-1 road trip and comes off a 107-102 victory in Utah. The Celtics have also seemed to get over the shock of trading center Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder. “I think we’ve kind of settled down now,” said Paul Pierce. “I mean, I thought it was kind of like an earthquake right there for a second when the trade happened. We were suffering from shockwaves in Denver.” The team enters tonight with a 43-15 overall record, including a 6-5 mark when hosting Western Conference squads. Boston is 27-28 ATS on the season and 3-4 ATS versus Pacific division teams.
The Celtics dropped both games of the series against the Suns last year and will look for forward Kevin Garnett to rise to the occasion in snapping the team’s recent losing streak in the series. He scored 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his only game versus Phoenix during the 2009-10 campaign. Guard Ray Allen averaged 15.5 points in the series, while point guard Rajon Rondo contributed 13.5 points and 9.5 assists per game.
Bettors are likely going to back the Suns due to their 5-1 ATS mark as a road underdog, while the Celtics are 2-5 ATS versus the Western Conference.
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