Phoenix Suns vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 12/31/2021 NBA Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Phoenix Suns vs Boston Celtics

Date: Friday, December 31, 2021

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics (16-19) will try to defeat the Phoenix Suns (27-7) at TD Garden on Friday.

The Suns took the court against the Thunder and notched a win by a score of 115-97 in their last contest. In the matter of personal fouls, the Suns walked away with 15 while the Thunder had 11 personal fouls. They made 7 of their 35 attempts from distance. Oklahoma City finished the game at 87.5% from the free throw line by making 14 of 16 attempts. On top of that, Oklahoma City pulled down 31 boards (14 offensive, 17 defensive) and earned 7 blocks. Oklahoma City distributed 45 assists and had 19 steals in the matchup. Pertaining to the defense, Phoenix allowed the other team to go 39.6% from the field on 38 out of 96 shooting. They also distributed 22 assists for the contest as well as forcing the other team into 1 turnovers and earning 7 steals. Concerning getting rebounds, they earned a total of 56 with 18 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Suns buried 21 of their 28 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. Phoenix wrapped up the game having earned a 46.1% field goal percentage (41 out of 89) and knocked down 12 of their 34 three-point shots.

Devin Booker is one player who had an impact in this contest. He walked away with 38 points on 12 of 24 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36 mins and collected 7 rebounds. Booker ended up going 50.0% from the floor and also recorded 5 assists.

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Phoenix comes into this one with a win-loss record of 27-7 for the campaign. They are averaging 111.8 pts per contest (3rd in the NBA) while hitting 47.6% from the field. The Suns are shooting 36.5% on shots from distance (392 of 1,075) and 79.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, Phoenix is pulling down 45.9 boards per game and has 886 assists so far this year, which ranks 6th in the league in terms of passing. They are turning it over 13.9 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 19.2 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Suns have forced 15.3 turnovers per game and they draw 19.1 fouls. They are surrendering 32.9% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 4th in the league in points per game allowed (104.4). The Suns defensively are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 43.5% (1,330 of 3,055) and they concede 45.7 boards per game as a group. They are 6th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 755 surrendered on the year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Celtics went home defeated by a final of 91-82 when they played the Clippers. In the matter of how they cleaned up the glass, Boston permitted Los Angeles to get 40 in total (9 on the offensive glass). They shot 39.3% from 3-point land by shooting 11 of 28 and ended up shooting 14 of 17 at the charity stripe (82.4%). The Celtics allowed the Clippers to make 33 of 81 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 40.7% in the matchup. When the game finished, the Celtics shot 35 out of 101 from the field which had them at 34.7%. In regard to shots from 3-point land, Boston converted 4 of their 42 tries (9.5%). They were able to bury 8 of those for a percentage of 72.7%. The Clippers earned 14 personal fouls for this game which took the Celtics to the charity stripe for a total of 11 attempts. They also turned the ball over 8 times, while earning 8 steals for the contest. The Celtics snagged 29 defensive boards and 21 offensive boards totaling 50 for the matchup.

Robert Williams was important for the Celtics in this game. He converted 8 out of 10 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 80.0%, and had 14 rebounds. Williams earned 16 points in his 28 minutes on the court and accounted for 1 assist in this game.

Boston has a win-loss mark of 16-19 so far this season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Celtics are connecting on 44.0% from the floor, which is 23rd in the NBA. Boston has totaled 3,766 points this year (107.6 per game) and they pull down 46.0 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 22.6 times per game (23rd in basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.8 times per contest. The Celtics have committed 19.0 fouls per game while shooting 80.6% from the free throw line.

The Boston defense surrenders 34.4% on shots from beyond the arc (433 of 1,257) and their opponents are knocking down 79.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 21.8 dimes and 45.9 rebounds per game, which is ranked 2nd and 21st in basketball. The Celtics on the defensive side of the court are 14th in the NBA in points allowed per game with 107.0. They are able to force 14.3 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 44.2% from the field (10th in the league).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Phoenix

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