Celtics vs Trail Blazers

Boston’s four-game winning streak, powered by Jaylen Brown’s 29.4 points per night and Payton Pritchard’s recent scoring surge, meets a Portland squad that has dropped three straight and is just 5-9 at home, with the Blazers now missing Scoot Henderson, Jerami Grant, Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday and others while also riding a 4-6 skid over their last 10 games. With Jayson Tatum sidelined, the Celtics are leaning on a deep, healthy core that still includes Brown, Derrick White and Pritchard, and that depth has already fueled dominant recent wins over Portland, including double‑digit victories in both meetings last season. Boston’s profile as a top‑10 road offense and a defense allowing just 110.4 points per game contrasts sharply with a Blazers group giving up 119 points per game over their last 10, making the Celtics the clear side to trust straight up despite the juice. At -250, the price bakes in Boston’s superiority and injury edge, so I like the Celtics moneyline as a high‑probability but modest‑value play, earning a B+ grade. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 28/12/2025 09:40 ([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nba/preview/_/gameId/401810299))

Portland’s offense has been around 116.6 points per game, but taking that number at face value ignores how much shot creation they lose tonight with Lillard, Grant, Henderson and Matisse Thybulle all out, while Boston is missing its own primary scorer in Tatum. The Celtics bring a road defense allowing just 110.4 points per game and have held opponents to 109.3 over their last 10, and their half‑court execution plus 9-6 road mark suggest they can dictate tempo more than in last season’s shootouts between these teams that sailed into the 240s. Even with Brown and Pritchard in form and Deni Avdija carrying a heavy scoring load for Portland, the combination of depleted lineups, Boston’s defensive ceiling, and some natural regression from those prior high‑total meetings points toward a total that lands below the aggressive 229.5 number. I grade the Under 229.5 at -110 as a solid but not spectacular value play, worthy of a B with some room for late‑game variance. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 28/12/2025 09:40 ([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nba/preview/_/gameId/401810299))

Jaylen Brown and the Celtics have been throttling teams lately, going 8-2 in their last 10 with a double‑digit average scoring margin, while Portland has stumbled to 4-6 in that span and is being outscored by nearly six points per night during a three-game home skid. With Boston still rolling out a deep guard and wing rotation (Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard) against a Blazers side leaning heavily on Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe while missing multiple starters and creators, the matchup tilts strongly toward a Celtics win by multiple possessions. Recent history supports that angle too: Boston has taken five straight from Portland, including 10‑ and 13‑point victories last season, and the current statistical gap between Boston’s efficient offense/defense and Portland’s negative point differential suggests another result in that range is more likely than not. Still, laying a full -7 on the road without Tatum trims the value a bit, so I’ll back Celtics -7 at -107 with a B- grade, acknowledging some risk if Portland’s young legs catch fire from three. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 28/12/2025 09:40 ([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nba/preview/_/gameId/401810299))