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NBA Playoffs: Celtics vs. Nets Best Bets, Odds

James Harden

James Harden

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

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The Brooklyn Nets begin their playoff run tonight at the Barclays Center when they host the Boston Celtics in Game 1. Entering Saturday night’s game, the Nets are the betting favorite to win the NBA Championship. Saturday’s odds are powered by PointsBet.

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Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets (-8) Total: 230.5

Going into the season if someone told me the Nets would be playing the Boston Celtics in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs, I would have replied, “What happened?” Well, what happened was the Celtics struggled this season, and at times I thought they wouldn’t even make the playoffs. They had injuries to key players throughout the season, and it played a big part in Boston finishing the regular season with a 36-36 record.

PointsBet is reporting that 37% of the handle in the NBA Champions futures market is backing the Nets. The star-studded trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving has not spent much time together on the court this season, but the potential of a super team making a deep run is very enticing for NBA bettors.

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The Nets and Celtics have played three times this season with Brooklyn winning and covering the number in all three games. The Under cashed in all three games as well.

Since the All-Star break the Celtics are 10-7 ATS on the road, and are 8-point underdogs heading in Saturday’s clash. Some shops are seeing close to 70% of the tickets on the Nets covering, making it obvious who public is backing. In a big nationally televised game, I’m rarely going to touch such a heavily public side. The last time these two teams met the Nets were a 3.5-point favorite. Boston made a furious fourth-quarter comeback attempt but fell short, as the Nets got the SU and ATS win.

The Total in this game opened at 225.5, but PointsBet currently has that number at 230.5. Public bettors have steamed this number up way too high, in my opinion. In the three meetings these two squads faced each other this season the Totals were 224.5, 232 and 229.5, which saw the Under hit. I think the current Total will start to dip prior to tip-off which makes me want to get in on Under as soon as possible to ensure I’m getting the best number.

Edge Finder Tip: Boston is 31-18-1 (63.3%) against the spread in its last 50 games as an underdog.

Edge: Under 230.5

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