Boston Celtics vs Houston Rockets Prediction, 3/14/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Celtics vs Houston Rockets

Date: Sunday, March 14, 2021

Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX

TV: NBC Sports Boston

Odds/Point Spread: Boston (-10)

Toyota Center is the venue where and the Houston Rockets (11-25) will play the Boston Celtics (19-18) on Sunday. Houston opens this game as 10-point dogs. The O/U opens at 224.

The Boston Celtics faced off with the Brooklyn Nets and went home with a loss by a final score of 121-109 in their last contest. Boston wrapped up the contest having earned a 45.1% FG percentage (41 of 91) and buried 13 of their 40 three-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Celtics converted 14 of 22 shots for a rate of 63.6%. With respect to pulling down boards, they earned 39 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 22 assists for the matchup while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and earning 10 steals. Pertaining to defending, Boston allowed the other team to go 47.7% from the floor on 42 out of 88 shooting. Brooklyn recorded 21 dimes and had 3 steals in this game. Moreover, Brooklyn pulled down 45 rebounds (11 offensive, 34 defensive) and had 10 blocked shots. Brooklyn went 81.8% at the charity stripe by making 18 of 22 shots. They buried 19 of their 42 attempts from 3-point land.

Jayson Tatum is one guy who was a factor in this matchup. He ended up with 31 points on 13 out of 22 shooting. He played for 35:31 minutes played and also totaled 5 boards. Tatum finished 59.1% from the floor and dished out 3 dimes. Someone else that was a contributor in this matchup for the Celtics was Daniel Theis. He pulled down 8 rebounds in his 28:00 min on the court. He finished the game at 70.0% from the field in this contest by going 7-of-10 (17 points). When the final whistle blew, Theis wasn't able to notch an assist.

Boston steps onto the court with a win-loss mark of 19-18 on the year. They are averaging 111.6 points per outing (20th in the NBA) while going 46.7% from the field. The Celtics are shooting 37.1% on shots from 3-point land (452 of 1,217) and 76.0% from the free throw line. As a team, Boston is grabbing 43.7 rebounds per contest and has racked up 827 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 26th in basketball in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 14.1 times per game and as a group they are committing 20.8 fouls every game. On the defensive end, the Celtics have forced 14.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.1 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 10th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 871 surrendered so far this season. The Celtics are giving up a shooting percentage of 46.9% (530 of 745) and they relinquish 41.8 boards per contest as a team. They concede 36.5% on shots from downtown while they are 11th in the league in points per game allowed (111.1).

The last time they took the court, the Houston Rockets took a defeat with a final score of 114-99 when they faced the Utah Jazz. The Rockets earned 31 defensive rebounds and 19 offensive boards totaling 50 in this matchup. They also turned it over 11 times, while getting 11 steals in the matchup. The Jazz were called for 17 personal fouls for this game which got the Rockets to the charity stripe for 13 shots. They were able to make 8 of the free throws for a clip of 61.5%. In the matter of 3-pointers, Houston buried 9 of their 43 attempts (20.9%). When the final whistle blew, the Rockets went 41 out of 111 from the field which gave them a rate of 36.9%. The Rockets permitted the Jazz to knock down 39 out of 81 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 48.1% for this contest. They finished the game shooting 37.5% from three-point range by going 15 out of 40 and finished the contest at 21 of 25 from the free throw line (84.0%). Concerning how they cleaned up the glass, Houston allowed Utah to grab 50 overall (6 on the offensive side).

Kevin Porter was important for the Rockets for this contest. He converted 11 out of 25 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 44.0%, and tallied 3 rebounds. Porter totaled 27 points in his 37:39 minutes of playing time and accounted for 8 dimes in the game. Someone else that ended being a contributor for Houston was Sterling Brown. He accumulated 1 assist in his 37:19 mins on the court, and he put in 6 out of 16 from the floor. Brown ended up shooting 37.5% from the floor while also collecting 15 points and 3 total rebounds.

Houston has a win-loss record of 11-25 so far this year. The Rockets are committing 20.3 fouls per contest and they connect on 75.3% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 22.0 times per contest (28th in the NBA) and they turn the ball over 14.6 times per game. Houston has accounted for 3,861 points this season (107.3 per contest) and they average 42.6 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Rockets are shooting 43.4% from the floor, which ranks 29th in the NBA. The Rockets defensively are ranked 22nd in basketball in PPG allowed with 113.2. They are forcing 15.8 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.7% from the floor (16th in the NBA). The Houston defense allows 36.9% on shots from distance (441 of 1,194) and opponents are making 78.0% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 23.5 dimes and 48.5 boards per game, which is ranked 7th and 29th in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston (+10)

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