Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers Betting Preview

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— Tuesday, December 07th Boston Celtics @ Los Angeles Lakers

It’s always an interesting matchup when a top team from one conference faces one in the opposing conference. Today, we have the battle of the sixth-seeds, one from the Eastern Conference, the other from the Western Conference.

The Boston Celtics are looking to secure another win after dismantling the Portland Trail Blazers. However, they’re facing the Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers are starting to get healthy and could see a few players back. Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony are all “day-to-day.” However, we do expect to see at least two of them on Tuesday night.

The Lakers are coming off of a loss to the Clippers, so they’ll want to bounce back against the Celtics. The question is, can they and will they cover?

Boston Celtics Betting Preview: Look for Tatum to takeover

One thing you can rely on in each Celtics game is for Jayson Tatum to takeover. This is also something the Celtics have come to rely on in terms of offense.

Tatum’s ability to score has him ranked as one of the best in the NBA. However, we’d like to see him get some help from his fellow players in carrying the burden. There’s a chance Jaylen Brown could play on Tuesday.

If Brown is in the lineup, the Celtics will have another strong shooter against the Lakers. The Lakers have had trouble defending the perimeter, which could lead to more scoring.

If the Celtics can take advantage of this, they could get a lead on the Lakers quickly. The key for the Celtics is holding the lead as it gets later in the game. This is especially true if LeBron James plays.

Los Angeles Lakers Betting Preview: Who’s in? Who’s Out?

One big problem about betting on this game is there isn’t a clear injury report yet. Three impactful players on the Lakers offense are just listed as “day-to-day.”

This means that they will likely not be announced until the game gets closer to tip-off. Going off the information we have, we believe Anthony Davis and LeBron James will play. This makes it a tough game for Boston.

With LeBron James in, he’ll likely be tasked with guarding Jayson Tatum. This is a much better matchup for James than it is for Tatum. LeBron is a very physical defender and can get Tatum off of his game slightly easier.

However, the Lakers can’t underestimate the rest of the Celtics team, especially Jaylen Brown. Still, we need to find a winner at the sportsbook for this game.

Our pick for the Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers

Both of these teams have very talented rosters, but we like the Celtics here. Jayson Tatum has been unstoppable recently, and we expect the streak to continue. He also might have Jaylen Brown back in the roster, which will be a huge help.

The Celtics have an ATS record this season of 13-11, which is pretty good. Even more importantly, they’ve gone 9-5 against the spread on the road. We’ll roll with the hot hand here and take the Boston Celtics +2.5 and the over.

DunkelIndex Free Betting Pick: Boston Celtics +2.5, OVER

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