Boston Celtics vs Portland Trail Blazers Picks and Odds Jan 21
Boston Celtics vs Portland Trail Blazers Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Kevin Dolan offers his Boston Celtics vs Portland Trail Blazers betting preview for Friday, January 21. At the time of posting, the Celtics have opened as a 7.5-point home favorite over the visiting Trail Blazers, with the total sitting at 214 points.
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| Friday, January 21 | NBA Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Boston Celtics -7.5 vs Portland Trail Blazers |
| Total: | 214 Points |
| Game Time: | 7:40pm ET / 4:40pm PT |
| Arena: | TD Garden in Boston |
| TV: | NBC Sports Boston |
Boston Celtics vs Portland Trail Blazers Analysis
The Boston Celtics welcome in the Portland Trail Blazers into the TD Garden as both teams head into this one on some good form of late, winning four of their last six games each respectively. The two teams have had one prior meeting this season already back on December 4th where the Celtics ran out easy 145-117 winners on the road in Portland.
Boston’s Solid Defense
This Celtics defense has continued to produce solid results this season, limiting five of their last nine opponents to 100 points or less. With big center Robert Williams expected back in the lineup tonight for Boston, look for that to continue as the Celtics rank No. 2 in the East this season on overall defensive efficiency, holding opponents to just 44.0% from the floor at home this year as well, again good for 2nd in the East overall.
Portland’s Road Issues
Despite two recent road wins for the Blazers over Washington and Orlando respectively, those two wins on their current six game road trip out East constitute half of Portland’s entire road victories this season, with the Blazers owning one of the worst road records in the league this year, registering just four wins from 19 games away from home.
A lot of those road issues have come on the offensive end for the Portland Trail Blazers this season, with Portland averaging a full 8.2 ppg less on the road than they have at home, the biggest scoring drop-off out of any team in the league this year.
Boston Celtics vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction
After leading heading into the 4th quarter on Wednesday night against the Miami Heat, the Portland Trail Blazers laid an absolute egg in that game, generating just 12 total points over the final 12 minutes of action to not only lose the game outright, but also being unable to cover the +9 spread on themselves as well in a huge late game collapse.
And those late game collapses have been nothing new for the Trail Blazers this season as Portland rank dead last in the league this year on 4th quarter opponent points allowed, giving up 28.3 points on average to opposing offenses. That figure increases even higher to 29.7 points in the 4th quarter when on the road this season and the Blazers have covered just three of their last eleven full game road spreads against teams with a winning home record.
While we’re hesitant to back Portland on the full game line here, the Blazers have averaged 59.3 points on the offensive end over their last three first halves, the 9th highest points total in the league, and we expect something similar here on Friday as the Blazers likely start fast and fade late here in Boston.
Because of that, we’re looking at the Portland Trail Blazers on the first half line here on Friday as they take on the Boston Celtics in the TD Garden.
Friday’s #NBA Notes and Trends:
📝The under is 10-3 in Charlotte’s last 13 games.
📝Orlando is 4-14 against the spread at home.
📝Miami is 7-1 ATS in their last eight games.
📝Each of Toronto’s last six games have stayed under the total.
➡️https://t.co/RHOuvHZvdC pic.twitter.com/FBWQEK20vf— GoldSheet (@thegoldsheet) January 21, 2022
Boston Celtics vs Portland Trail Blazers Preview from GoldSheet
Boston didn’t look great in home loss to Charlotte on Wednesday, with Jayson Tatum making just 5 of 19 shots (0-7 on treys) and the Celtics being out-boarded 47-38 by a Hornet team that ranks 29th in rebound percentage this season.
Portland should remember first encounter with Boston this season, as the Celtics ran the Trail Blazers out of the Moda Center 145-117, making 57% of their treys (21 of 37), led by Tatum and Dennis Schroder who had 31 each. The TD Garden has been death on chalk players lately, with favorites checking in at 4-11-1 since Thanksgiving. Boston isn’t a sure thing to bounce back after a loss, either, as the Celts are just 2-4 vs. the number following their last six losses.
Recent return to action of G CJ McCollum a major plus for Portland, as he joins Anfernee Simons to give the Blazers solid backcourt punch and compliments to C Jusuf Nurkic (17 ppg, 13 rpg last nine games) inside, and Robert Covington has begun to take a much bigger load lately (10 rpg last 4Gs, 13 ppg last five games).
NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Friday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Boston Celtics vs Portland Trail Blazers contest.
NBA Tip-Off Show
Join Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of guests for the NBA Tip-Off Show at 4:15pm ET / 1:15pm PT as we discuss tonight’s marquee games. Stay up-to-date on the latest NBA news, stats, analysis, and predictions with our panel of professional handicappers as they preview tonight’s NBA action, including this Boston Celtics vs Portland Trail Blazers clash, from a betting perspective.
NBA Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NBA point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all of Friday’s NBA games, including this Boston Celtics vs Portland Trail Blazers showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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