The Boston Celtics can move one step closer toward clinching the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs as well as home-court advantage throughout the postseason when they host the Phoenix Suns on Thursday at TD Garden in Boston. The Celtics (51-14) enter the game with the best record in the NBA. Meanwhile the Suns (38-27) are tied for sixth in the West with the Kings.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. ET. Boston is listed as a 5.5-point favorite in the latest Celtics vs. Suns odds while the Over/Under for total points scored is 225.5. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our NBA odds page.)
Before making any Suns vs. Celtics picks or NBA predictions, be sure to check out what SportsLine's advanced computer model has to say.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 21 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 70-46 roll on all top-rated NBA picks, returning nearly $2,200. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
The model knows that Boston's Jayson Tatum is having an MVP-caliber season. The 26-year-old forward ranks seventh in the league in scoring (27.0 points per game). He also is averaging 8.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 47.3% from the field. He is coming off a 38-point, six-rebound performance in a 123-107 win over the Jazz.
The model also has taken into account that Phoenix has one of the greatest scorers in league history in Kevin Durant. The two-time NBA Finals MVP has scored 28,544 career points, which ranks ninth on the league's all-time scoring list. He needs 53 points to surpass Shaquille O'Neal for No. 8. This season Durant ranks fourth in the NBA in scoring (28.5 points per game).
The model has simulated Celtics vs. Suns 10,000 times, and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time.
Who wins Suns vs. Celtics, and which side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the spread you should be all over, all from the model on a 70-46 roll on top-rated NBA picks.
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