Boston Celtics at New Orleans Hornets

Betting Odds

Boston (-1)
Game Total Line:(178)
(wagering lines available at Sportsbook.com)

New Orleans (40-30, 34-33-3 ATS) has won three of its past four games and is a solid if unspectacular 5-2 in its last seven games. More importantly, the Hornets are absolutely running wild on NBA odds; they’ve gone 5-1-1 against the spread in their past seven games. New Orleans had to settle for a push, though, in Wednesday’s 100-95 win over the Phoenix Suns.

Chris Paul continued his onslaught against the Suns. Paul recently missed a pair of games after getting carted off the court with a scary neck injury. The superstar point guard looks born again, as the break gave him a chance to rest nagging injuries to his knee, ankle and hip. Paul is averaging 28.6 points, 11.3 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 5.0 steals over his last three games. He has just five turnovers over that span and is shooting an incredible 58.4 percent from the field. Yes, you just read all those numbers correctly. Somehow, New Orleans only managed to win two of those three games.

Boston (48-19, 31-34-2 ATS) is coming off a 93-77 loss against the Houston Rockets on Friday night. Facing New Orleans on Saturday doesn’t bode well, as the Celtics have been exposed in such situations. Boston is just 2-8 in the second half of back-to-back games when playing on the road, including losses to pathetic teams like the Cavaliers, Nets and Wizards.

The team at least got some good news on the injury front. Boston has been plagued by injuries all season, but it looks like Shaquille O’Neal is nearing a return. The center has been upgraded to day-to-day after missing the last 18 games with a sore Achilles tendon. Obviously, Shaq isn’t going to come in and play like an All-Star, but the Celtics could use some depth up front after trading Kendrick Perkins at the deadline. Shaq is averaging 9.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in about 20 minutes per game this season; those numbers would make a big difference off the bench.

Boston and New Orleans rarely face off, though they’ve split their past 10 games. The Hornets have a 6-4 edge against the spread, including an 83-81 victory over Boston on New Year’s Eve. It was the only meeting between the two teams this year. That game went under the total, as it has the past five times the Hornets and Celtics have played each other. BetEd.com has set the total for Saturday’s game at 178 points.

Point Spread Pick

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