Bucks vs. Celtics: NBA odds, Picks and Predictions
Bucks vs. Celtics Odds
| Bucks Odds | +5 |
| Celtics Odds | -5 |
| Over/Under | 224.5 |
| Date | Sun, Dec. 25 |
| Time | 5:00 p.m. |
| TV | ABC |
On Christmas Day, NBA fans will be treated to a five-game slate of action, including an early evening affair between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. Entering play, Milwaukee and Boston are separated by only a half-game atop the Eastern Conference standings, with the winner of this holiday matchup holding walking away with the top seed when they leave TD Garden on Sunday. In this highly-anticipated battle, oddsmakers are expecting a competitive game script, pricing Boston as 5-point home favorites on the spread.
Milwaukee Bucks
On Sunday, Milwaukee is unlikely to have Khris Middleton available, who is listed as doubtful with right knee soreness. Having played only seven games this season, the Bucks are used to playing without one of their top contributors. Per Cleaning the Glass, Milwaukee still ranks in the 48th percentile in offensive efficiency and the 92nd percentile in defensive efficiency when Middleton has been on the sidelines during the first-half of the campaign, meaning that this holiday affair against Boston is far from an overwhelming task.
On Sunday, the Bucks will be looking to avoid their first three-game regular season losing streak since October 2021, when they lost three consecutive contests to the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, and Utah Jazz. Though Milwaukee is rightfully regarded as a championship contender, the early season results have been less than outstanding, especially on the road. When playing away from home, the Bucks are only 8-7 this year, which includes losses in four of their last five road games. Notably, the Bucks have a -63 point differential in those five games.
Boston Celtics
Though it is easy to find data to admonish the current version of the Bucks, the same is true of the Celtics. In 11 games during December, Boston has only five wins, and ranks 14th in the NBA in Net Rating (+0.1), despite continuing to pace the Eastern Conference standings. If Boston hopes to take care of business on Christmas, the recipe for success is simple – hit open shots from the perimeter. Similar to previous years, Milwaukee, by design, allows a high-number of shot attempts from beyond-the-arc. This could play particularly well for the Celtics, which rank second in the league this season in offensive three-point attempts per game, and have converted those attempts at the sixth-best clip of any team.
Defensively, Boston will need to defend the perimeter well against a Milwaukee offense that ranks seventh in three-point attempts per game through the first-half of the campaign. Even during the Celtics’ December slide, they have held their opponents to 34.0% from beyond-the-arc, which is the sixth-best percentage in the league. Boston has also continued to do an exceptional job defending without fouling, in addition to disrupting passing lanes and limiting assists.
Bucks vs. Celtics – Picks & Predictions
When these two teams met in the Eastern Conference semifinals during last year’s postseason, each of Boston’s four wins in the series came by eight points or more. In each of those games, Boston shot 37.8% or better from deep, which enabled them to pull away by a decisive margin. The key to success for Boston once again relates to their ability to knock-down shots from the perimeter. If the Celtics have an efficient day from beyond-the-arc, they are likely to cover the spread in this spot. They are the healthier team and have the advantage of homecourt, where they are 12-5 this year – trust them to get the job done on Christmas.
PICK: Celtics -5 (-107, PointsBet)
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