Celtics vs. Nets NBA Picks: Brooklyn Bummer

The Brooklyn Nets are too short-handed to be the right NBA pick for Friday’s all-Atlantic matchup with the Boston Celtics.

Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets

Friday, April 23, 2021 – 07:30 PM EDT at Barclays Center

Everything’s a crisis in the NBA right now. The decision to play the 2020-21 season inside everyone’s home arenas (Toronto Raptors notwithstanding) has come back to haunt the league; superstars are getting hurt left and right, thanks in large part to the compressed schedule, and many of those who have returned from the COVID-19 list are half the players they used to be. Don’t even get me started about the play-in format for the postseason.

The Brooklyn Nets could end up being the poster children for 2021. James Harden is out indefinitely with a strained right hamstring that somehow got worse during his recovery. And Kevin Durant (thigh contusion) has played just 22 games this year, after sitting out all of last season with a torn Achilles. But there’s a decent chance Durant will make his latest return this Friday when the Boston Celtics come to town – enough of a chance that Brooklyn have already opened as 5.5-point home faves on Bovada’s NBA odds board. Should we throw our hard-earned money at the Nets?

License To Ill

Heck no. FiveThirtyEight only project Brooklyn (39-20 SU, 29-30 ATS) to win this game by two points, which seems fair; the Nets were 2.5-point home faves on March 11 when they beat Boston 121-109, and that was with Harden (plus-7.0 BPM) in the lineup. Assuming he plays Friday after getting upgraded to questionable, Durant (plus-6.2 BPM) can replace a lot of that production, but what about the other missing persons? Nicolas Claxton (plus-0.5 BPM) is on the COVID list. Chris Chiozza (minus-1.6 BPM) is out indefinitely with a broken right hand. I could go on.

Okay, I will. LaMarcus Aldridge (plus-1.7 BPM in five games) was a pleasant surprise after getting his contract bought out by San Antonio, but he’s retired now because of an irregular heartbeat. With Claxton in protocol, that leaves Jeff Green (minus-1.8 BPM) as Brooklyn’s starting power forward, which isn’t ideal. And with Tyler Johnson (minus-3.7 BPM) joining Harden, Chiozza and others on the injured list with a sore knee, there aren’t many warm bodies left in the backcourt behind Kyrie Irving (plus-5.2 BPM), who has missed 16 games this year for various reasons, some of them personal. Ai ya.

Before we unload the clip on Boston (32-27 SU, 29-29-1 ATS), we should point out that they’re a bit short-handed, too, and they’ll be playing on zero days of rest after beating the Phoenix Suns 99-86 as 1.5-point home dogs. Jaylen Brown (plus-3.0 BPM) was listed as doubtful with bursitis in his left shoulder and didn’t play, but could suit up Friday. Robert Williams (plus-6.4 BPM) could also make his return after missing four games with a sore left knee, and Evan Fournier (plus-1.1 BPM on the season) has to come off the COVID list sometime. Will that time be Friday night? Wait for the shoot-around to find out, bet accordingly, and may the sphere be with you.

NBA Pick: Celtics +5.5 (–120) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)

Celtics +5.5(-120)

Visit Site

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.

The post Celtics vs. Nets NBA Picks: Brooklyn Bummer appeared first on Picks.