Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 12/18/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics

Date: Friday, December 18, 2020

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Brooklyn (-2.5)

The Boston Celtics (48-24 last season) play the Brooklyn Nets (35-37 last year) at TD Garden on Friday. The spread on this contest has Brooklyn as 2.5-point favorites. The O/U is set at 216.

Brooklyn heads into this matchup after finishing with a mark of 35-37 last season. They lost possession via turnover 15.3 times per contest and as a basketball team committed 21.0 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Brooklyn pulled in 47.9 rebounds per game and racked up 1,761 dimes last season, which ranked 13th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Nets hit on 34.3% on three-point attempts (941 of 2,746) and 74.5% from the charity stripe. They averaged 111.8 points per game (16th in the league) while shooting 44.8% from the field. On the defensive end, the Nets were able to force their opponents into 12.8 turnovers per game while drawing 21.1 fouls. They surrendered 35.0% from 3-point land and they ranked 19th in the league in points per game allowed (112.3). The Nets defensively gave up a FG percentage of 44.6% (2,981 of 6,688) and they surrendered 45.9 boards per contest as a unit. They were 6th in the league in allowing assists 1,630 conceded last season.

The Brooklyn Nets took the court against the Washington Wizards and walked away with a win by a score of 119-114 in their last preseason game. Brooklyn walked away from the game having earned a 51.4% field goal percentage (38 out of 74) and converted 14 of 30 3-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Nets knocked down 29 of 45 tries for a percentage of 64.4%. Concerning grabbing rebounds, they earned 41 with 5 of them being offensive. They also dished out 23 assists for the game in addition to earning 5 steals and 6 blocks. When talking about the defense, Brooklyn let their opponent shoot 43.3% from the floor on 42 out of 97. Washington earned 26 assists and 8 steals in this contest. Additionally, the Wizards grabbed 47 rebounds (13 offensive, 34 defensive) and got 2 blocked shots. Washington finished 72.7% at the charity stripe by knocking down 16 of their 22 tries. They also made 14 of 37 shots from downtown.

Boston had a win-loss record of 48-24 last season. Boston tallied 8,183 pts throughout last year (113.7 per game) and they averaged 46.1 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Celtics shot 46.1% from the floor, which was ranked 17th in basketball. The Celtics were responsible for committing 21.6 fouls per game while shooting 80.1% from the charity stripe. They assisted teammates 23.0 times per contest (25th in basketball) and they lost possession via turnover 13.8 times per contest. The Celtics were ranked 2nd in basketball in points given up per game with 107.3. They gave up 22.4 assists and 44.3 boards per game, which was ranked 2nd and 11th in the NBA. The Boston defense conceded 34.0% on shots from behind the 3-point line (851 of 2,504) and their opponents made 76.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They forced their opponents into 15.2 TO's per game and let teams shoot 44.1% from the field (4th in basketball).

The last time they took the court, the Boston Celtics took a defeat with a final score of 108-99 when they faced the Philadelphia 76ers in their last preseason game. The Celtics were able to pull down 30 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards for a total of 42 in the game. They also blocked 7 attempts while getting 7 steals for the contest. The 76ers committed 24 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Celtics to the charity stripe for a total of 22 tries. They were able to knock down 16 of them for a clip of 72.7%. When discussing shooting from 3-point land, Boston made 11 of 39 attempts (28.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Celtics walked away from this one shooting 36 out of 83 from the field which had them shooting 43.4%. The Celtics allowed the 76ers to convert 40 of 85 tries from the floor which had them at 47.1% in this game. They wrapped up this game 24.1% from distance via 7 out of 29 and walked away from this one shooting 21 out of 28 from the free throw line (75.0%). When discussing team rebounding, Boston allowed Philadelphia to get 42 in total (10 on the offensive side).

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Boston (+2.5) and over 216 points

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