Washington Wizards Vs. Boston Celtics: Predictions, Starting Lineups (2/9/24)
This Eastern Conference game between the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics has one of the widest spreads we have seen this season.
Are you comfortable laying 17.5 points with the Boston Celtics at home against the Washington Wizards? Find out whether we are through our Washington Wizards vs. Boston Celtics matchup preview and game prediction below!
Washington Wizards Vs. Boston Celtics Prediction
A mostly underwhelming trade deadline still resulted in the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics making some moves. Boston acquired Xavier Tillman and Jaden Springer to add some bench depth to its championship-contending team; however, neither player will be available to play in this bout.
The Wizards moved on from Daniel Gafford, shipping him to Dallas in exchange for a late 2024 first-rounder and Richaun Holmes. Washington also moved Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala for Marvin Bagley and Isaiah Livers. Similarly to Boston, the Wizards also won’t have their recently acquired players (Bagley and Livers) available tonight.
There two teams faced off in October and Boston handled business on the road, winning by 19 points. Since then, the Cs have amassed the best record overall and at home in the NBA; they have been utterly dominant, winning 24 of their 27 games at T.D. Garden. Additionally, they boast a +12.9 net rating with a 49/39/83 shooting split on their home floor. Wow.
Boston gains a massive advantage on the perimeter in front of its fans, allowing opponents to hit merely 33.8% of their three-point attempts. Luckily, Washington is also the second-worst three-point shooting team (34.8%) in the NBA this season and has knocked down only 29.8% of its attempts in its past three games. Not a good trend.
Lastly, there’s the matchup of Kristaps Porzingis (7-foot-3) versus Eugene Omoruyi (6-foot-6) and/or Kyle Kuzma (6-foot-9.) The Wizards will miss their two newly acquired centers, or center-adjacent players (Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley Jr.) for this game and have no frontcourt depth at all, which is a literal nightmare against Porzingis, the most efficient post-up player in the league. Washington has no rim protection and will be an even worse rebounding team (30th in total rebounding rate) than usual in this spot. The line is justified here but we still will take the Cs to win by 18 or more.
Washington Wizards Vs. Boston Celtics Prediction: Boston Celtics -17 (-110)
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Washington Wizards Vs. Boston Celtics Best Odds
After a mostly quiet trade deadline, the Washington Wizards enter this matchup against the Boston Celtics as 17-point road underdogs. Washington has Moneyline odds of +1100 to win this road game and hand the Cs just their fourth home loss of the season. Meanwhile, Boston is a -2100 favorite to notch another home win during its dominant 2023-24 campaign. The point total hovers around 235 points, with the Under holding a slight advantage (-112) over the Over.
Washington Wizards Starting Lineup
PG: Tyus Jones
SG: Jordan Poole
SF: Deni Avdija
PF: Kyle Kuzma
C: Eugene Omoruyi
Boston Celtics Starting Lineup
PG: Derrick White
SG: Jrue Holiday
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Kristaps Porzingis
Washington Wizards Vs. Boston Celtics Injuries
Washington made a few moves before the trade deadline but retained its core of players (Kyle Kuzma, Tyus Jones, Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert, and Jordan Poole). The Wizards will not have Isaiah Livers, Marvin Bagley Jr., Richaun Holmes, and Patrick Baldwin Jr. available for this inner-conference matchup against Boston.
On the other hand, the Cs won’t be able to deploy newly acquired players Xavier Tillman or Jaden Springer tonight. Tillman has a minor knee injury that he is nursing, while Springer will see the floor soon after being moved from the Sixers. Jayson Tatum is the big question mark as he battles an illness. Stay tuned to see if he can give it a go on Friday night!
