Alex Hunter breaks down his preview, prediction and pick for Tuesday’s NBA matchup between the Celtics and the Hornets.
The Celtics are hosting the Hornets on Tuesday. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Boston is favored by 4.5 points and this game carries a total of 220.5 points.
Let’s dive into my preview and pick for this matchup.
Celtics vs. Hornets preview
The Celtics sit second in the Eastern Conference at 53-25 and hold a 2.5-game lead over the Knicks for that spot with only four games remaining in the regular season. New York does own the tiebreaker between these two rivals and the easiest path for Boston to secure the No. 2 seed is to win two of its final four games.
The Celtics have been on a roll, winning 10 of their last 12, including a 114-99 win over the Hornets in Charlotte on March 29. The Hornets did hand Boston its worst loss of the season on March 4, defeating the Celtics 118-89 in Boston, but this was before Jayson Tatum made his return from his torn Achilles. The superstar returned in Boston’s next game and the Celtics are an impressive 11-2 with Tatum active.
The forward was rusty to start, but Tatum has looked more and more like himself in every game and he has flirted with a triple-double in three straight. Tatum is averaging 21.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game since returning, and he already leads the Celtics in plus/minus for the season, as his defense has been tremendous in addition to his offensive game. Overall, Boston owns an elite 12.7 net rating with Tatum on the floor, which is 5.3 points per 100 possessions better than with him off.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown hasn’t slowed down at all, scoring at least 26 points in 11 in a row, including two outings over 40 points. The Celtics are getting healthy and finding their rhythm at the right time with the playoffs less than two weeks away, and Boston’s odds to win the championship just continue to improve. Currently, the Celtics carry the second-best odds to win the title at +500 on DraftKings Sportsbook, trailing only the defending champion Thunder.
The Hornets have also been playing very well. The club is 17-7 and ranks second in net rating since the All-Star break, which is three spots ahead of the Celtics. At 43-36, Charlotte is the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, but with the standings tight, the Hornets are only a half game back of the No. 6-seeded Raptors, which is the final spot to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
Every game is crucial for the Hornets right now and getting a win tonight in Boston would be massive, but with Tatum back in the mix, this is a much different Celtics team than the one the Hornets blew out in early March. Plus, Charlotte has been vulnerable in close games and if this game comes down to the wire, it will be bad news for the Hornets. This season, Charlotte is just 10-18 in clutch games, which is when the score is within five points in the final five minutes of a contest. The Hornets rank 25th in clutch net rating while the Celtics rank 11th.
Celtics vs. Hornets pick, best bet
The Celtics are on a tear right now and seem to improve in every game. The Hornets are also playing well and are a great team, but this ascending Boston team looks unstoppable and the Celtics should win this game on their home floor.
Boston should be favored by more than 4.5 points and the Celtics are a great wager to cover this spread.