How to Bet on LA Clippers at Boston

The L.A. Clippers (35-17) continue their East Coast road trip this week, landing in Boston on Wednesday for an evening date with the Celtics (31-22). The Clippers are coming off a close shave in Philadelphia Monday night, where they won 98-92. While the Celtics are the home team on Wednesday night, they have a quick one-game trip to Milwaukee Tuesday night, and then they turn around to come back home and take on the Clippers. The Celtics last played on Sunday, when they beat the Sacramento Kings at home, 128-119. Let’s take a look at the NBA odds for this tilt between East and West and a quick review of their previous encounter.

LA Clippers vs Boston TV Info and NBA Picks

When: Wednesday, February 10, 7:30 PM EST Where: TD GARDEN, BOSTON, MA TV: CSNHD Radio: 98.5 THE SPORTS HUB Stream Option: NBA.com

Why Should You Bet on the Clippers?

Even though the miserable 76ers hung within six points of the Clippers on Monday night, I would not take that as a sign that the Clippers are heading toward a slump. This is a team that has done basicallly nothing but win since Blake Griffin went down with a hamstring injury. Now that it looks like a hand fracture will keep him out until the end of March, if not longer, the Clippers have basically decided that their fortunes this season will not revolve around him. Yes, the Sixers pushed the Clippers to overtime — and the Sixers had a 19-point lead, but they had Jamal Crawford pouring in 23 points and J.J. Redick adding 23 more (including the three-pointer that tied the score late in the fourth quarter), and then the Clippers had an ugly win in a game that most teams would not have let them have. However, that’s part of being an elite team in the NBA — winning when you shouldn’t.

Why Should You Bet on Boston?

Obviously, you’ll want to look at what happens in the Celtics’ Tuesday night game in Milwaukee, as far as injuries go. Also, it’s tough to play a back-to-back on the road, even when the second game is in your home arena. However, the Celtics are one of the few teams in the NBA that is even hotter than the Clippers, having won 9 of 10 and risen to #6 in the most recent ESPN NBA Power Rankings. Guard Isaiah Thomas was the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for last week, and Tyler Zeller has really come into his own since he was finally released from the Celtics’ bench after the first third of the season. Interior scoring is also part of what’s impressing observers about the Celtics — but it’s the sheer volume of the offense that is most intimidating. Against Sacramento, the Celtics created an almost impossible deficit for the visitors, putting up a TD Garden (Fleet Center) record 46 points in the first period.

Expert Betting Pick and Final Score Prediction

This is one of the best matchups in the NBA this week. I like Boston to come home with momentum and put away a Clippers team that is also climbing the standings in the Western Conference. I’m picking Boston to win, 115-111 in a nail-biter.