Boston Celtics vs Houston Rockets Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 13/01/2024, 04:45  by Joseph King | Modified on 13/01/2024 at 04:45 in NBA Predictions

The 29-9 Boston Celtics will look to get back to winning ways when they host the 19-18 Houston Rockets at TD Garden on Saturday. The Celtics have seen their lead in the Eastern Conference shrink to three games following their 135-102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. Boston is experiencing its worst stretch of a stellar 2023/24 campaign as they have now lost two of the last three and three of the last six overall. Head coach Joe Mazzulla opted to pull the majority of his starters in the team’s blowout loss to Milwaukee as the game was clearly out of reach by the halftime buzzer. Boston should be fired up for this one as they look to respond emphatically in front of the home crowd where they have yet to taste defeat. The hosts are a perfect 18 for 18 in their home gym and come into this contest as overwhelming favorites to make it 19 straight.

Houston barely scraped by the NBA’s worst team with a 112-110 away victory over the Pistons on Friday night. The Rockets will certainly take the victory as road wins have been increasingly difficult to come by, but the performance won’t have inspired much confidence. The Rockets have been a pleasant surprise this season under the leadership of head coach Ime Udoka who will now face off against his former team. Houston is one of the best defensive squads in the league and ranks second in opponent points allowed per game (110.5). However, most of their damage has been done at the Toyota Center in Houston as the Rockets have managed just four wins in 16 road games so far this year. They’re now faced with the unenviable task of taking on the Celtics in Boston on the second leg of a back-to-back.