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The Celtics-Thunder spread was coming in at Oklahoma City -9. You can get all the latest NBA betting odds at Sportsbook.com here.
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Oklahoma City -9 & 186
Opening Line & Total: Thunder -8.5 & 186
Boston has lost four straight, and the team is looking at another long night when they visit Oklahoma City without Rajon Rondo on Wednesday night.
Last week, Boston was swept in a home-and-home with Detroit, sandwiched around a loss at Chicago to the Derrick Rose-less Bulls. Rondo (14.8 PPG, 9.5 APG) earned a two-game suspension for tossing a ball at an official after being ejected during the second Pistons loss, and he’ll be serving the second game of the ban on Wednesday. The Celtics were hardly competitive without him, PF Kevin Garnett (questionable for Wednesday for personal reasons) and PF Brandon Bass (out with a knee injury), trailing by as many as 23 in an 89-73 loss. The Celtics have never lost at Oklahoma City (SU and ATS) in three visits, but the Thunder beat them comfortably in Boston in January (97-88), when the Celtics were at full strength.
The Celtics didn’t collapse without Rondo when he missed eight games with a wrist injury last month. They went 6-2 SU and 5-3 ATS without him. But they couldn’t get anything going in Dallas on Monday. Paul Pierce (17.4 PPG) had 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting and SG Ray Allen (14.3 PPG) added 15, but hit just 1-of-5 threes. Rondo’s fill-in, PG Avery Bradley, got off to a fast start with six points in the first eight minutes, but finished with 12 and just two assists. Garnett (14.1 PPG) and Bass (11.6 PPG) were missed just as badly, as post players Jermaine O’Neal, Chris Wilcox, Greg Stiemsma and JaJuan Johnson combined for 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting.
This is the fourth of a five-game homestand to wrap up the first half for the Thunder. They’ve scored SU wins in their first three games, but failed to cover in their past two (a six-point overtime win over Denver on Sunday and an eight-point win over New Orleans on Monday). They’re 13-1 SU at home this season, but only 7-7 ATS.
Their defensive effort continues to be shaky with top perimeter defender Thabo Sefolosha still shelved by a foot injury. Their strong defensive numbers over the past five games—95.8 PPG and 39.7% FG allowed—are skewed by home games against teams that always struggle on the road (Utah, Golden State and New Orleans). High-scoring sixth man James Harden (16.8 PPG) is questionable for Wednesday’s game with an ankle injury. But right now, SF Kevin Durant (27.7 PPG on 51.6% FG) and PG Russell Westbrook (23.4 PPG) are more than capable of carrying them. Durant is averaging 31.8 PPG on 57.4% FG and 54.2% three-point FG over his past five games. Westbrook has added 27.9 PPG on 53.0% FG over his past eight games.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
