The Pelicans lost four straight games after their best moment of the season, including their most recent game against the Mavericks. They will now host the defending champions in New Orleans, who defeated them in January, albeit in a very close game that ended in Boston 119-120 in favor of the Celtics in the middle of January.
The Celtics defeated the Bulls by a margin of 22 points, which is peculiar because, despite their 33-15 record, the ATS record is 19-28-1. Out of their 27 attempts from the free throw line, the Celtics scored 22 points.
Porzingis had his best night of the season in that final game against the Bulls, scoring a season-high 34 points, 26 of which came in the first half. To bounce back from the previous heartbreaking defeat to the Rockets, it was a smart strategy to start the game early against the Bulls.
On the plus side, McCollum became the Pelicans' best three-point shooter in team history after the Pelicans lost a close game to the Mavs that same day.
The Celtics currently hold the fifth spot among NBA teams for points scored throughout the season. The team holds the fifth-best position in NBA scoring records with 117.3 average points per game while leadering the league with 17.8 made three-point plays. The Celtics can easily reach tall scoring numbers provided their opponents fail to keep up a proper defense. The Pelicans defense concedes the fifth-highest total of 118.1 points per game to their opponents in the NBA. The New Orleans defense stands as the third best in the league at stopping field goal attempts and allows opponents to shoot the fifth most three pointers daily. The Celtics face no significant obstacle when scoring points thus guaranteeing a road victory against the Pelicans.
The Celtics reached 120 points when they played their opening game against the Pelicans. Jayson Tatum achieved 38 points in his performance despite Boston missing many shooting opportunities during the game. Through his recent hot streak Porzingis achieved 19 points while earning 11 rebounds to lead the Celtics against New Orleans. The large number of 101 shots the Celtics took produced their road victory in the game. Boston possesses the capability to shoot the ball more accurately while Tatum and Porzingis can put together excellent performances on Friday thus delivering a victory.
Throughout the entire season the Celtics have demonstrated strong defensive abilities. Boston defends their opponents at an average rate of 108.3 points per game standing as the sixth-best team in the NBA. Along with that, the Celtics hold opponents to the fifth-lowest field goal percentage at just 45.1 percent. The Celtics excel at defending the perimeter and they manage to avoid unnecessary fouls. Since the Pelicans do not excel at scoring the Celtics will face minimal difficulty in limiting their points.
The Pelicans managed to keep the first game against the Celtics tight. The Celtics did manage to score 120 points, as previously stated, but New Orleans held them to 43.6 percent shooting and less than 30 percent from beyond the arc. They also lost by just one point since the Pelicans scored 119 points. Dejounte Murray and Trey Murphy III combined for 12 assists, 15 rebounds, and 56 points throughout the defeat. Zion Williamson scored 16 points on his own. On offense, New Orleans was able to perform significantly better than they usually do, and they must do it again on Friday night.
In their last three games, the Celtics have suffered two defeats. They defeated the Dallas Mavericks and lost to the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers. They haven't been playing their best basketball lately, though. In their two defeats, Boston only managed to score 112 and 96 points. On the defensive end of the court, they are also performing marginally worse. This is an opportunity that New Orleans must seize. They have a solid chance of covering the spread if they can get good performances from Murphy, Murray, and Williamson.
