These are two of the most popular teams in the league and they normally play very good games. Almost exactly one year ago the Lakers won 110-109 in overtime at Boston in basketball betting. NBA betting has seen the Lakers on a long road trip. This is the 7th game of the 8-game trip, which they finish up tomorrow at Memphis. The Los Angeles Lakers have done pretty well on the trip but this will be a tough basketball betting test at Boston. Even though the Lakers won last year against the Celtics, they have lost six of the last ten and they are 2-8 against the NBA betting odds in those games. Until last year they had very little success at Boston, losing by 10 points or more in three of the last four.
The Lakers have been overvalued for the most part this season in NBA betting and they still have a losing record against the spread. In past seasons the Los Angeles Lakers would get a little more value on the road but this season they have a losing road mark vs. the basketball betting number. Los Angeles is 4th in the NBA in scoring and 8th in defense so they can win against anyone at anytime. Covering the basketball betting number is another story. Kobe Bryant leads the team in scoring at just over 28 points per game and he gets support from Pau Gasol who puts in 20 points or more on a regular basis.
Boston has been dealing with injuries for much of this season but they still have a very good record. The problem for the Celtics is similar to what the Los Angeles Lakers experience, and that is being overvalued in basketball betting. The Celtics are always laying points at home and they simply haven’t covered the NBA betting odds that often at home. The Celtics play very good defense as they are second in the league but their offense is just 16th. That can be an issue when they are laying points on a nightly basis. The Celtics are healthy now so this should be an excellent NBA betting game on Sunday between two of the best teams in the NBA and it is on ABC so the ratings should be good.