Tip off: 7:35 PM EST
Spread: SAS -1
Total: 193
M/L: SAS -115, BOS -105
San Antonio
Manu Ginobili or not, the Spurs are still legitimate contenders. When Manu comes back, the Spurs will be down right scary. They obtained Stephen Jackson, who came at the price of the aged Richard Jefferson. Jefferson is done, and Jackson is close, but it’s still an upgrade.
Tim Duncan has aged a lot too, and that’s a common theme on the Spurs, but they have Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter, not to mention DeJuan Blair, all coming along nicely, which should keep the Spurs formidable after Duncan retires. Besides that, Tony Parker is only 29, though he’s been in the league for ever, and he should be productive for a while…at least longer than Duncan.
Tonight should represent a good test against Boston to use as a measuring stick. San Antonio has been good on the road, consistently, and they still find themselves one point favorites.
Spurs Betting Trends:
The Spurs are 32-18 ATS this season. They are 24-14 ATS as favorite this season , and a remarkable 6-1 ATS when the total is between 190 and 194.5 They are also 21-7 ATS in the second half of the season and 8-6 ATS following a non-conf. game.
Boston
The Celtics have won 7 of their past 10, including five in a row. At 30-22, the Celts are the #4 seed and just moved ahead of Orlando. A first round matchup against the Magic would NOT be a death sentence, as Boston has always given the Magic problems. Things may be different, however, now that Kendrick Perkins is Oklahoma City. Danny Ainge had written off the Magic, but that may be a grave mistake in light of what is occurring with the possible seedings.
Despite being a half game worse than the 32-22 Magic, the Celts have the division lead working for them which warrants a home court advantage in the first round. Rajon Rondo was almost dealt at the deadline, and Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are on the blocks, while Paul Pierce will retire a Celtic, almost certainly, after passing Larry Bird on the all-time Celtics scoring list.
Celtics Betting Trends:
The Celts are 26-26 ATS this season and 11-9 ATS as an underdog. They are 15-12 ATS at home and 16-16 ATS in the second half of the season. They are 7-10 ATS in non conference games and 8-7 ATS after allowing 85 points or less. They are also 7-5 ATS after a win by more than 10 points.
