Celtics vs. Magic prediction and odds for Monday, January 23 (Fade banged up Boston)
By Josh Yourish
Even without Jayson Tatum on the floor, the Boston Celtics just keep winning. On Saturday, Boston took down Toronto on the back of Jaylen Brown’s 27 points and eight rebounds, and the Celtics still have the best record in the NBA, 35-12.
Meanwhile, the Orlando Magic lost to the Washington Wizards in DC, 138-118 and now come into tonight’s matchup, 17-29.
Jayson Tatum is probable for the Celtics, but Marcus Smart was lost to an ankle injury over the weekend. The injury bug could be starting to bite the top team in the NBA, while Orlando, the No. 13 seed in the East, is getting Jonathan Isaac back tonight.
Here are the odds for the Celtics and Magic in Orlando tonight.
Celtics vs. Magic odds, spread and total
Celtics vs. Magic prediction and pick
Boston’s entire offseason was built around having more playmakers on offense to withstand an injury to a Marcus Smart or Jayson Tatum for short stretches.
If Tatum comes back obviously he will shoulder a lot of the load without Smart, and Malcolm Brogdon would also slide right into the starting lineup and still gives size and playmaking from the point guard spot, though the defense won’t be to Smart’s level.
Only problem, Brogdon is out too, he’ll miss the game for personal reasons. So, now the Celtics are down to Derrick White and Payton Pritchard occupying all of the point guard minutes.
That’s a lot better than really any other team could do with their third and fourth stringers in the backcourt, but it certainly levels the playing field against Orlando who has backup level starting guards.
The Magic have another advantage tonight, home court. Orlando is 6-17 on the road, compared to 11-12 at home. Their offensive rating jumps from 107.9 away to 114.4 in Orlando.
That translates to the Magic being 5-0 against the spread in their last five home games against teams with winning road records, which Boston has.
Boston is built to withstand a couple of injuries, but without Smart and Brogdon tonight, I like Orlando to cover, and maybe even win outright.
Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change