Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics Game 4 Betting Preview: Odds, Picks, Best Series Bets and Props 

Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics Game 4 Betting Preview

The Celtics have taken a commanding 3-0 lead in the series, and will look to sweep the Nets in game 4. This game is still in Brooklyn, being played on Monday April 25th at 7PM ET.

Despite the Celtics looking worlds better than the Nets, the Nets are still the favorite here, albeit a small one. The point spread is Nets -1.5, with the over/under at 220.

At this point, I see no reason why the Celtics shouldn’t be favored. The Nets are the definition of a collection of talent that doesn’t play well together. They don’t play with any cohesiveness. The Nets have a frustrating amount of miscommunications that lead to either turnovers on offense or easy buckets on defense.

Granted, this team has barely played together all year, so it makes sense why they look disconnected. The irony of Kyrie Irving lamenting the fact that they haven’t played enough together all year is pretty funny, considering the circumstances.

The Nets remind me of the Lakers last year where, the entire year they could never play together but all year they said to wait until the playoffs. Well, we waited, and nothing changed. At least the Lakers were able to win 2 games in their series, whereas the Nets are one loss away from being swept.

The Celtics, meanwhile, could not be more opposite of everything I have just said about the Nets. They look sharp, crisp, and play like a complete team. Everybody knows where they are supposed to be, and their teammates know where everybody is. It really is beautiful basketball to watch.

Their defense has limited Kevin Durant a way in which we have almost never seen in the playoffs before, aside from when he was teammates with Russell Westbrook.

The Celtics have done a phenomenal job limiting Durant and never letting him get comfortable. Tatum, who has already taken a leap offensively, has look fantastic on defense too. Aside from Irving going off in game 1, the Celtics defense has been stout.

They have also looked better than expected on offense too. Tatum himself is close to a 1-man offense, but they are getting great contributions pretty much up and down the roster. Al Horford specifically looks as though he’s gotten younger by about 5 years

So, if it wasn’t already clear here, I’m taking the Celtics to win and complete the sweep.

I’ve seen nothing from the Nets that makes me believe they can beat the Celtics, unless the Celtics come out without as much effort as games 1-3. That is not something I foresee happening. So, I’ll take the Celtics moneyline at +100 on FanDuel.

And no, Ben Simmons possibly returning won’t change my mind. If anything, it would make me like the Celtics even more.

Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics Game 4 Pick:

My official betting pick for this game is to take the Celtics moneyline. I bet this at +100 odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics Prediction:

My prediction for this game is that the Celtics win 115-106.

Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics Game 3 Betting Preview

Props to the Celtics, who look like the best team in the East so far, considering how good they have looked and also taking their opponent into account. Up 2-0, the Celtics head to Brooklyn for games 3 & 4. Game 3 is being played on Saturday April 23rd at 7:30PM ET.

Even down 2-0, the Nets are favored in this game. The spread is at Nets -3.5, with the total at 222.5.

I’ll take an L here and admit that I had pegged this series incorrectly so far. As good as the Celtics defense was for the past 3 months or so, I expected that the Nets, led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, would be able score.

Kyrie was awesome in game 1, but struggled mightily in game 2. Durant, meanwhile, hasn’t been horrible, but he has also yet to go over 27 points at all this series.

The problem with the Nets offense is that it becomes too stagnant- too much does it revolve around hoping KD or Kyrie can iso their way into a bucket. The Nets will run a pick-and-roll with their two stars, but the Celtics defense is so cohesive that they rarely give up any good looks.

It ends up coming down to one of Durant or Kyrie taking a tough, low % shot, or hope that a role player such as Goran Dragic or Bruce Brown can step up. The surprising part is the Nets role players have actually been pretty good so far, where the Nets have failed is from there two stars.

I also thought that the Celtics would have trouble scoring. As much maligned the Nets defense is in the regular season, they’ve pretty much always stepped up when it matters.

While the Nets defense hasn’t been horrible, the Celtics certainly haven’t had trouble scoring. My thought was that outside of Tatum the Celtics wouldn’t be able to generate offense, and that has mostly been incorrect.

Tatum was great in game 1, putting up 31 points, but the Celtics also had 3 other players score 20+ points in game 1- Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and Marcus Smart. Brown is understandable, as he is a great player, but getting that production from Smart and Horford is huge for the Celtics.

In game 2, the Celtics were even more balanced. Tatum struggled, shooting 5-16 with only 19 points, but instead the Celtics had 6 other players score in double figures. Jaylen Brown scored the most points for the Celtics with 22.

If the Celtics defense is going to be this good, and I see no reason why they would slow down now, AND they are going to get this balanced of an offensive attack, then they are going to be a tough out.

As of right now, the Celtics are favorites to come out of the East, and that is well-deserved in my opinion.

So, with all this said, how to bet game 3? Well, that is a good question. I can’t quit this pre-series notion that the Nets are going to get insane production from Durant and Irving that simply will the team to victory, while I also can’t just ignore what has transpired through two games so far.

Instead, I decided to sit out on playing the spread or moneyline, as I could not find any value there, and bet the game total going under. I got under 224.5 at -115 odds on BetMGM.

Despite not having a good feel for who is going to win the game, I am very confident that this game is going to be a rock fight. The Celtics defense should continue to be impeccable, while I foresee more focus and determination from the Nets defensively now that they are down 0-2.

I am imagining a game 3 similar to game 3 between the Nets and the Bucks in the East semi’s last year, in which the Bucks were down 0-2 and won that game, at home, 86-83. Now I’m not saying it will be that low scoring, but I am expecting a defensive battle here.

The OddsJam Line prices this total at 222.5, so I love the value of taking the under at two full points higher than that.

Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics Game 3 Pick:

My official NBA betting pick for this game is to take the game total going under 224.5. I bet this on BetMGM Sportsbook at -115 odds.

Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics Game 3 Prediction:

My prediction is that the Brooklyn Nets will win this game 103-101.

Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets Game 2 Betting Preview

After a thrilling game 1 victory for the Celtics over the Nets, we stay in Boston for game 2. This game is being played on Wednesday, April 20th, at 7PM ET.

With the game 1 win, the Celtics are slight favorites here. The point spread is currently Celtics -3.5, with the total at 227.

Man, how great was game 1? The Nets were on the verge of upsetting the Celtics to start the series, but instead the Celtics ended the final 45 seconds on a 4-0 run to win the game on a Jayson Tatum buzzer beater as time expired.

That was an impressive victory from the Celtics, that completely overshadowed what a good performance Kyrie Irving and the Nets had. They were down by as much as 15 halfway through the 3rd quarter, before coming back and taking the lead with 8 minutes left in the 4th.

They kept this lead the entire 4th quarter, until Tatum won it with 0 seconds left. Incredible game!

Looking at game 2, I like the Nets to even the series. I got this at +148 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

All along I thought this was a 7 game series, and game 1 did nothing but confirm that belief. This Nets team is prone to lose focus during a game, as they did in the 3rd quarter against the Celtics, but, after blowing game 1 in such an excruciating way, I am expecting a complete game from them in game 2.

I also find it unlikely that the Celtics are going to get 20 point performances from both Al Horford and Marcus Smart again, whereas the Nets have two players who could possibly put up 50. I’ll take the Nets here.

As for my player prop, I am going against recent trends and taking Kevin Durant to score over 29.5 points. This was another bet I took on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Durant has now gone 3 straight games without scoring more than 25 points. This was after a 4 game stretch in which he scored 32 or more in 3 of 4 games, highlighted with a 55 point explosion in that stretch. Backing up even further he had put up over 30 in 4 of 6 games.

It is rare to see Kevin Durant go a prolonged stretch without a scoring outburst, and after a quiet game 1 loss I am expecting him to come out in game 2 guns blazing.

Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets Game 2 Picks:

My official NBA betting picks for this game is to take the Nets moneyline. I got this at +148 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

For my player prop, I like Kevin Durant to go over 29.5 points. I got this at -108 odds on FanDuel Sportsbook as well.

Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets Game 2 Prediction:

My prediction for this game is that the Nets win 104-100.

Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets Game 1 Betting Preview

You will see the full series preview and analysis below, so I’ll keep the game preview itself relatively short. I’ll provide my official prediction, and one player prop as well.

As the favorite in the series, it’s no surprise that the Celtics are also the favorite in this game. The point spread is currently Celtics -4, according to the OddsJam Perfect Line, with the over/under set at 224.5

While I do think the Nets win this series, I struggled with my game 1 prediction. What I ended up settling on is the Celtics to take game 1. So, I’m riding with their moneyline here. I got this at -170 on DraftKings.

I have the Nets in 7 for this series, so they could still lose game 1 and take the series itself. The reason why I am riding the Celtics in game 1 specifically is because they just have the formula down with how good they were to end the season.

Being at home in the TD Garden with that crowd behind them, the expectation is that the Celtics start fast while it takes the Nets a game or two to reach their top form after such a bizarre regular season.

One player prop I love, though, is Kevin Durant to go over 6.5 assists. I ended up betting this at +100 odds on BetMGM.

In Durants last 10 games he is averaging over 8 assists, and 10 assists in his last 5. He has been excellent as a passer recently, as teams have sold out to stop him from scoring.

Durant has shown that he won’t force it, and will take the pass if it’s there, so I love getting him to continue to rack up the assists. He has also gone over this total in each of the two games he played against Boston this season.

Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets Game 1 Picks:

My official NBA betting picks for this game is to take the Celtics moneyline. I got this at -170 on DraftKings Sportsbook.

For my player prop for this game, I took Kevin Durant to go over 6.5 assists. I bet this at +100 odds on BetMGM Sportsbook.

Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets Game 1 Prediction:

My prediction for this game is that the Celtics will win 109-108.

Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets Series Odds & Analysis

In this article we will be previewing the 2 seed Boston Celtics going up against the 7 seed Brooklyn Nets. As the higher seed in this series, the Celtics will have home court advantage.

The Nets reward for winning the play-in game is a date with the 2 seed Boston Celtics, who have essentially turned into the 96 Bulls for the past 3 months. The Nets, of course, after a weird season at least have a healthy Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, which means they can compete with anybody.

It’s funny to look at the 2021 playoffs first round series between the Nets and the Celtics and realize how much has changed since then. Back in that series, the Nets were the 2 seed and had the 3-headed monster of the two studs named above, Durant and Irving, and then of course James Harden. Harden, as we all know, cried his way off the Nets and is now a member of the Philadelphia 76ers.

That 7 seeded Celtics team was coached by Brad Stevens, who now holds a front office role and was replaced by Ime Udoka. Their roster isn’t too much different, with a couple secondary pieces such as Al Horford and Derrick White as the main differences, but the studs of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown still remain.

Something tells me this won’t be a 5 game series in a Nets blowout, though, unlike that series from last year.

No. 2 Celtics vs No. 7 Nets Betting Preview

• Head-to-Head Regular Season Record: Celtics 3-1
• Boston Celtics Regular Season Record: 51-31
• Brooklyn Nets Regular Season Record: 44-38

Something that is interesting to note is that, while the Celtics are the favorite to win this series, the Nets still have better odds to come out of the East and to win the finals in general.

The Celtics are +420 to win the East, and +900 to win the finals, while the Nets are +380 to win the East, and +750 to win the finals. But the Celtics are projected to beat the Nets. Weird!

Boston Celtics Analysis: Are They Really this Good?

Short answer: yes. Long answer: see below.

The Celtics turnaround from the beginning of the season to now is remarkable. The Celtics woke up on New Years Eve with a 17-19 record. That night they beat the best team in the NBA in the Phoenix Suns by 15 points. They have been playing incredible basketball ever since.

Since that date the Celtics have been the best team in the NBA- by far. They have the best Net Rating in the NBA in that span, with the 2nd best offensive Net Rating and the best defensive Net Rating as well.

On the season as a whole they have the 2nd best Net Rating, just narrowly behind the Suns for the top spot. They, of course, have the best defense by far.

On offense they are led by scoring wizard Jayson Tatum, but where the Celtics made their turnaround was on the defensive end. Marcus Smart is a defensive player of the year candidate, and surrounding him the Celtics roster is littered with plus defenders.

They can play multiple styles on defense because of how many versatile defenders they have on the roster. One thing will hurt the Celtics, though, is the injury to Robert Williams AKA Timelord.

Timelord has really come into his own in his 4th NBA season. His minutes per game has jumped by over 10 minutes, and the reason for this increase is because of how good he was defensively. The Celtics still have a great defense, but losing him definitely hurts.

It especially hurts going against a Nets roster that quite possibly has the two best scorers in the entire NBA. The Celtics are going to need all the bodies they can get to throw at Durant and Irving, and Williams might have been the most equipped to guard KD.

Brooklyn Nets Analysis: a Top-Heavy Roster with Two All-World Talents

The Nets came into the 2021-2022 season with surprisingly good depth for a team with 3 superstars, but that depth has taken a hit as the season has gone on. Also, the superstar count went down 33% as well, to “only” 2 superstars.

Unsurprisingly, everything is pretty much up to the two remaining stars in Durant and Irving. Luckily for the Nets, those two are pretty dang good.

Durant has only played in 55 games this season, but the Nets record in those games is 36-19. You can essentially throw out the season series against the Celtics, since Irving only played in 1 of those games, and Durant played in 2, going 1-1.

Of all two man lineup combinations in the entire NBA, Durant and Kyrie on the floor together has the 2nd best plus/minus. When these two share the court, they outscore their opponent by 9 points per game in roughly 30 minutes.

So, what it comes down to is that it really doesn’t matter who the other 3 are on the court, as long as you have those two you will be good.

Overall, Kevin Durant ended the season 4th in scoring, while Kyrie Irving was 8th. Unsurprisingly, the Nets are the only team with two players in the top 10 in scoring in the NBA.

I had a tough time deciding who to take in this series, but I ended up settling on the star power of the Nets. As good as the Celtics have been this season, the one bugaboo for them is crunch time scoring.

This was an issue at the beginning of the season when the Celtics struggled, and then they spent 3 months blowing everybody out so they never really had to play crunch time minutes (I’m only half joking here).

We did see this issue creep up in a late season loss to the Heat. The one issue with the Celtics is that they don’t have a great facilitator. So, if you are able to get the ball out of Jayson Tatums hands, then they can have trouble scoring.

As maligned as the Nets defense has been, they have surprisingly stepped it up in important games. Durant is an awesome defender, and then they have Bruce Brown and Nic Claxton who are good defenders as well.

So, I think the Nets will be able to get enough stops on defense, and then on offense there really is no stopping Durant and Irving. This is why I ended up settling on the Nets winning this series.

The best odds I found this on was FanDuel at +120, so that is where I took it.

Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets Series Pick:

My official NBA betting pick for this series is to take the Nets to win straight up. I bet this at +120 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets Series Prediction:

My prediction for this series is that the Nets win in 7 games. This can also be bet on FanDuel at +550.