Boston Celtics vs Golden State Warriors Odds, Props & Prediction (Dec. 19)
The Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics (20-5, 6-5 away, 12-11-2 ATS) travel to the Bay Area for a rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals against the struggling Golden State Warriors (12-14, 6-6 home, 10-15-1 ATS) at the Chase Center at 7:10 pm PT/10:10 pm ET.
Owning an NBA-best 64.6 win percentage at home since 2015, the Golden State dynasty appears to be in its death knell. The team is just .500 at the Chase Center this season and oddsmakers list them as rare 5.5-point home underdogs on Tuesday.
Boston Celtics vs Golden State Warriors Odds
On the moneyline, Golden State is a +190 underdog in Tuesday’s NBA odds. Boston is -220 to win straight-up while the game total is 234.5, -110 both ways.
Odds from ESPN Bet on Dec. 19, 2023. Get this ESPN Bet promo to wager on BOS vs GS. ESPN Bet has a special boosted-odds same-game parlay for Celtics vs Warriors: Steph Curry over 4.5 three-pointers and the Warriors to win (+325).
Celtics Carry Five-Game Win Streak Into Tuesday
Tied with Minnesota for the best record in the NBA, the Celtics also bring an Eastern Conference-best five-game win streak to San Francisco on Tuesday. All five of those wins came against teams that are currently over .500 (New York, Cleveland twice, and Orlando twice) though it should be noted that all five also came at home.
Boston has actually lost three straight road games dating back to Nov. 20, falling 121-118 in OT at Charlotte, 113-96 at Orlando, and 122-112 at Indiana in a game that doubled as the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament.
Among the top-three favorites in the NBA MVP odds at the start of the season, Jayson Tatum has faded to sixth in the first two months of the year. Tatum isn’t having a bad season by any stretch of the imagination, but his PPG has dropped from 30.1 last year to 27.3 this year, while his Player Efficiency Rating is down from 23.7 to 20.9, largely thanks to his usage rating falling from 32.7 to 30.3%.
That’s more a testament to the strength and depth of Boston’s roster this season, though. Including Tatum, five players are averaging at least 12.3 PPG and new additions Kristaps Porzingis (18.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG) and Jrue Holiday (12.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 4.6 APG) look more than comfortable in Joe Mazzulla’s system.
With a +9.1 point differential so far, the Celtics sit second in the league to the 76ers (+11.3). No other team in the East is better than +5.2. They also sit second to the Sixers in Net Rating (9.0) with the sixth-best Offensive Rating and second-best Defensive Rating.
Warriors on First Win Streak Since Early November
On Sunday night, Golden State did something it hasn’t done since November 3: win two straight games. After racing out to a 6-2 start this season, Steph Curry and company lost 12 of their next 14 games to fall four games under .500. They stemmed a three-game losing streak with a narrow 124-120 home victory over Brooklyn on Saturday and backed it up with a 118-114 road win at Portland the next day.
Playing arguably the worst basketball of his storied career this season, Klay Thompson has finally showed signs of turning things around. Averaging just 16.7 PPG on the season while shooting 41.8% from the field, Klay has reached at least 24 points in each of the last three games while shooting 54% from the field including a blistering 54.8% from three.
With Steph Curry (28.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.4 APG) playing his worst game of the year on Sunday – just seven points on 20of-12 shooting in 33 minutes – Thompson (28 points) and Andrew Wiggins (25 points off the bench) shouldered the load.
But there was still a lot to nitpick with Golden State’s performance at Portland. They held a 16-point lead at halftime and, as they have so often done this year, saw it evaporate in the second half. The Blazers knotted the game at 93-93 early in the fourth quarter and had a shot to tie at 116 with six seconds remaining.
Celtics vs Warriors Player Props
Despite a poor performance last time out, Curry has an over/under point total of 28.5 on Tuesday night, tied with Tatum for the highest on the board. Thompson, who as mentioned has scored at least 24 points in three straight, is sitting at 19.5.
Celtics vs Warriors Prediction
The Celtics have the look of the most complete team in the league. Between Holiday and Derrick White, they have two great options at the point, and Tatum remains a bona fide MVP contender capable to taking over any game at any time. But their play away from home leaves a little to be desired, and Golden State has a penchant for fast starts.
The first-half moneyline lists the Warriors at +140, and that’s excellent value on the Dubs, who only need a 42% chance to lead at the break to be a +EV play at that price.
Boston vs Golden State picks:
- Warriors first-half moneyline (+140)
- Thompson over 19.5 points (-115)
Sascha Paruk’s 2023-24 NBA betting record:
- 9-5-2 ATS (+3.03 units)
- 6-4 ML (+2.62 units)
- 3-10 player props (-7.27 units)
All wagers one unit unless expressly stated otherwise.
