Boston Celtics vs Phoenix Suns (12/7/2022 – 10:00 pm EDT)
Line: Boston -1
O/U: 231
Boston Celtics vs Phoenix Suns
It’s a battle of NBA conferences Wednesday night as the Boston Celtics travel into the state of Arizona to take on the Phoenix Suns in the desert. The Celtics come into this match after beating the Toronto Raptors 116-110 in a close game on the road Monday night while the Suns were manhandled by the Dallas Mavericks in Texas Monday, 130-111.
Boston Celtics Analysis
Coming into Wednesday night’s matchup, the Celtics have the best overall record in the NBA at 20-5, which includes an impressive 9-3 record away from home. At 20-5, Boston is in first place in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic division where they already hold a large seven-game lead over the second-place Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics have gone 16-9 versus the spread over 25 games thus far while they’re 14-10-1 against the over/under.
With only five losses in 25 games, the Celtics have been playing the best basketball of any team in the NBA lately with an 8-2 record over their last 10 games and will be looking to win their third straight game Wednesday. After going 4-3 to begin the season, Boston went on a nine-game winning streak before Chicago stopped it, but followed that up with a five-game win streak that Miami snapped last Friday night.
Leading the Celtics is superstar small forward Jayson Tatum with 30.8 points a contest and adding in another 8.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, a steal, and a block per outing. Shooting guard Jaylen Brown contributes 26.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists a night with point guard Marcus Smart leading the team with 7.6 assists a contest. With Tatum and Brown, it’s no surprise that Boston is the number one offense in the NBA, averaging 120.6 points a game in addition to leading the league with a 40.2% three-point percentage.
Phoenix Suns Analysis
The Suns haven’t had the start that Boston has had but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been good as they’re 16-8 overall and in first place in the Western Conference’s Pacific division, with a small two-game lead over the upstart Sacramento Kings. Phoenix has gone 14-10 against the spread over 24 games while doing a little below .500 with an 11-13 record versus the over/under.
Phoenix began the season well by winning six out of their first eight, including a five-game winning streak although their record would suffer a setback as the Suns would go 3-5 over the following eight contests. They have gotten back to their winning ways over the last nine games, however, as Phoenix has gone 7-2 which also includes a 5-1 record at home over that stretch.
As a team, the Suns use a balanced team effort to win games as they perform well on both ends of the floor by averaging a seventh-best 116.5 points a contest while their defense holds opponents to 109.3 points a game, which is sixth-best in the NBA. On offense, it’s none other than shooting guard Devin Booker leading the way for Phoenix, averaging 28.4 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.9 rebounds a game while center Deandre Ayton chips in another 17.1 points and 9.6 rebounds a night.
