The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics collide in a star-studded matchup on Thursday, and our Lakers vs. Celtics NBA player props are based on the best NBA odds look at who will emerge victorious at TD Garden.
The Boston Celtics sit at 37-11 as the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Boston has won eight of its last 10 games, including a victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday. The Los Angeles Lakers sit one game under .500 at 24-25 and hold the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers are 5-5 over their last 10 outings but have lost two in a row.
The Celtics won 125-116 when the teams met on Christmas. Boston is 22-2 at home, while the Lakers are just 7-17 on the road. Can the Lakers earn a rare win at TD Garden to get back in the win column, or will Boston stay hot at home and extend their two-game winning streak? We've got you covered with three player props to target for tonight's marquee matchup in Boston.
Here are our best Lakers vs. Celtics NBA player props and NBA picks (odds via our best NBA betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Lakers vs. Celtics NBA player props: Thursday
- Jayson Tatum Over 29.5 points (+140 via bet365) ????
- LeBron James triple-double (+900 via DraftKings) ???
- Kristaps Porzingis Over 7.5 rebounds (-111 via FanDuel) ???
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Lakers vs. Celtics props
Tatum has had his way with the Lakers over the last five years. In that span, he's faced the purple and gold nine times and averaged 31.3 points in those matchups, reaching the 30-point plateau six times. Tatum has 18 games with at least 30 points on the season, and his scoring average is slightly better at home than on the road.
Los Angeles is an exploitable matchup def ensively. On the season, the Lakers allow the 11th most points per game (117.4), but over the last three, the team has surrendered a whopping 139 points, which is the most in the Association.
Tatum is a capable scoring threat from beyond the arc, but he should be able to do some damage in the paint, as Los Angeles has surrendered the second most points in the paint over their last three (63.3). Tatum's scoring prop is set at 27.5 across our featured books, but we can get it for plus-money odds by selling just one more bucket. That's what we'll do at bet365 as we bet on Tatum keeping his hot streak against a vulnerable Lakers defense.
It may seem like we're going out on a limb here with such long odds, but the limb isn't without support. James has played well against Boston over the last five seasons, averaging 25 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in his previous four trips to TD Garden. In five of his eight match ups against the Celtics in that span, he's come within three rebounds or assists of a triple-double five times. In his last three against Boston (home and away), he's averaged nine rebounds and 8.3 assists.
James has been on a roll over his last four games, averaging 26 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 10.5 assists, posting a double-double three times. He holds the record for most consecutive games with at least 10 points (1,195 and counting), so we won't worry about him reaching double digits in the scoring column. We need him to focus on assists and rebounds.
The Celtics have allowed the second most rebounds to opponents (57.7) over their last three, and James should be able to exploit this matchup as a rebounder. He's been hot as a facilitator, so we'll bet he's productive in all three categories and rewards us with a big cash on his fourth triple-double of the season and second over the last week.
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The Lakers allow the 12th fewest rebounds to opponents on the season (51.1), but they've given up the most (60.3) over their last three games. Anthony Davis missed one of those, and he's been banged up in that span. Davis is questionable again on Thursday, but he won't be operating at 100% even if he plays.
In his first season with Boston, Porzingis is averaging 6.9 rebounds per game (second lowest of his career). Still, he went for a double-double in Tuesday's matchup with the Indiana Pacers and posted one when the Celtics beat the Lakers on Christmas. Porzingis has grabbed at least eight rebounds 14 times in 34 appearances on the season. We'll take the Over at FanDuel in this favorable matchup and bank on KP crashing the glass with authority as he did in his last matchup with this team.
Lakers-Celt ics NBA player props made Thursday at 10:55 a.m. ET.
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