MetroBet takes a look at a pair of key NBA games on the Tuesday night slate.
Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers (-7)
The Boston Celtics (35-21) were cruising right along, having won 10 of 11 games (with the lone loss coming to the Warriors), before a hiccup against the hated Lakers on Thursday and a complete collapse to the Clippers on Saturday. Boston blew a 28-point lead, and perhaps most notably, were outscored 75-44 without point guard Kyrie Irving on the floor.
Irving left the game late in the second quarter and was eventually diagnosed with a strained right knee. He will not play Tuesday night.
The Sixers did well to dispatch the Nuggets and Lakers in successive games last week, building on a 4-1 spread trend in their last five games against teams with winning records. Philly is now 23-6 at home this season, which spells trouble for the Celtics. Boston is 4-12 against the spread in their last 16 road games against squads with a home winning percentage of .600 or greater, per Covers.com.
Joel Embiid and company have the superior rebounding skills, leading the Celtics in season rebound differential plus-213 (fourth in the NBA) to minus-16 (19th).
The play: Sixers -7
Los Angeles Lakers (-5) at Atlanta Hawks
It’s no great surprise that the Atlanta Hawks (18-38) have begun their current seven-game home stand 0-3, losing to the Raptors, Hornets and Magic, but the competition doesn’t get any easier as LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers (28-28) come to State Farm Arena on Tuesday night.
James returned to the lineup after a lengthy absence due to a groin injury as L.A. began a brutal stretch of road games featuring stops at Golden State, Boston and Philadelphia. So far, the Lakers are 2-2 with James back in the lineup, with the former MVP reaching double figures in points and rebounds three times.
“Showtime” has fared well on the road this year, as L.A. is fifth in away game scoring at 113.4 points per contest. They should be able to attack a shoddy Atlanta defense that’s dead-last in the league at 118.5 points allowed per game.
Trends suggest that a play on the Lakers is well-advised; L.A. is 5-2 against the spread in their last seven road games, while the Hawks are 9-23 against the spread in their last 32 home games, per Covers.com.
The play: Lakers -5
