Betting Lakers-Celtics: Props and futures picks that stand out
Two of the top teams in the NBA face off Saturday night on ABC/ESPN+ when the Los Angeles Lakers (39-21, 15-14 away) hit the road to face the Boston Celtics (45-18, 21-11 home). Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. ET.
LeBron James and Luka Doncic enter TD Garden in the midst of an eight-game winning streak and have risen to second in the Western Conference. Meanwhile the Celtics are also second in their conference and have won nine of their past 11 games. Both James and Doncic have combined for at least 60 points in each of their past two games. For the Celtics, huge performances from role players helped lift them to victories over the past week including a 43-point performance from Payton Pritchard and 41 points from Derrick White on Wednesday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
ESPN BET is offering an array of prop bets for Saturday’s prime-time Lakers-Celtics game. Betting experts Andre Snellings and Eric Moody offer two bets they like most for the rivalry and a futures bet to keep an eye on.
For the latest odds, visit ESPN BET Sportsbook.
Bets we like for Saturday
Lakers +7.5 over Celtics (-110)
This line is entirely too large for the way the Lakers have been playing. They have the best record in the NBA since Jan. 15, going 20-4 over that period. They have won eight straight games by a combined 75 points. Yes, the Celtics are the defending champions and strong in their own right, but no team should be favored by 7.5 points over a team led by LeBron James and Luka Doncic that has been the best team in the league for an almost two-month span. — Snellings
Jayson Tatum over 5.5 assists (-115).
Tatum has hit this mark in six of his past 10 games while averaging 11.6 potential assists per game. The only times he fell short were blowouts where he didn’t play his full minutes. His usage spikes in big matchups, and this one fits the bill with both teams sitting as the No. 2 seed in their conferences. The spread suggests a competitive game, and the underdog Lakers have better odds to cover than Boston. This matchup sets up well for Tatum to thrive as a facilitator. — Moody
LeBron James over 25.5 points (-110)
James was named NBA Player of the Month for February and continues his hot play to date. He has averaged 29.0 PPG on 52.7 FG% with at least 26 points in seven of his past nine games. James has been further unlocked playing next to Doncic, with defenses unable to focus primarily on him, leading to multiple easy looks per game on assists from his new running mate. In a marquee games, I look for James to put up a big scoring number Saturday night. — Snellings
Luka Doncic over 15.5 assists and rebounds (-130)
Doncic has cleared this line in six of his past eight games since dropping his minutes restriction. Over that span, he has averaged 14.3 potential assists and 14.9 rebound chances per game. The beauty of Doncic’s game is that he impacts more than just scoring. Playing alongside James and Austin Reaves, he should rack up plenty of assists against the Celtics. — Moody
Futures picks
Lakers to win the Western Conference (+500)
I gave this as my favorite futures pick last month in our post-All-Star-Break betting guide, back when the odds were +700. I still see value in the pick now at +500, perhaps more-so because now there is proof of concept to back up the projection. Yes, the Thunder still deserve to be the favorites to come out of the West by having the best record in the West for the second straight season. But the Thunder were the top seed last season and lost in the second round. The Lakers, built around LeBron James and Luka Doncic both playing at-or-near MVP levels, are growing into a team that has as good a chance to win a given playoffs series as any team in the NBA. The Lakers have won three of their past four matchups against the top-seeded Thunder going back to last season and just defeated the third-seeded Nuggets by 23 points two weeks ago in Luka’s first big game with the team. As such, getting 5-1 odds to follow through and defeat those teams in the playoffs is good value. — Snellings
Los Angeles Lakers to beat Boston Celtics in NBA Finals (+2500)
The Celtics have an easier path to the NBA Finals in the Eastern Conference, while the Lakers face a tougher road in the competitive West. But Los Angeles is showing the league the blueprint for maximizing team potential. Since trading for Doncic, the Lakers have been outstanding, and you can see the chemistry developing on film. There were doubts about how Doncic and James would coexist, given that both command a high usage rate, scoring or setting up plays based on how they read the defense. But this duo is proving they can thrive together. The Lakers should be even more dangerous once the playoffs begin. — Moody
Source: espn.com