NBA Picks & Predictions for Saturday, March 19, 2011
By Nate Steele
(The Spread) - Will the Boston Celtics be able to get back on track Saturday night when they travel to play the New Orleans Hornets?
The Boston Celtics had their record drop to 48-19 overall and 19-13 on the road Friday night as they lost at a feisty Houston Rockets squad. Tonight, Boston has a chance to reverse its fortunes as it squares off with a New Orleans team that is 40-30 overall and 24-10 in home games.
Oddsmakers and online sports book Bodog.com has put the contest as a pick'em, while the over-under is set at 179. According to the latest trends, New Orleans is 3-2 against the spread versus Boston over the last three seasons. All five games in the series have gone under the total over the past three seasons. Boston is 24-37 ATS in non-conference games over the last two seasons.
New Orleans has won three of its last four, all of which have been at home. The Hornets are 5-5 in their last 10 and the Celtics are 6-4 in their last 10 games. In the previous meeting between the two teams this season, it was New Orleans that edged host Boston by an 83-81 score.
Paul Pierce leads a balanced Celtics scoring attack at 18.6 points per game, while David West paces the Hornets at 18.5 ppg.
Boston Celtics vs. New Orleans Hornets, 8:00PM EST (View Matchup)
NBA Free Pick: Boston is a team that hates losing, let alone losing two in a row. The Celtics are also in the position of now being a half-game behind the Bulls for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Add in the fact that Boston's loss wasn't a close defeat Friday night, it was embarrassed by Houston. It will be a team that is going to be fired up to get back in the winning column and get a little revenge against a New Orleans team that beat the Celtics earlier this season. This is not as much of a pick against the Hornets as it is one for the Celtics. When you get a top-notch effort from the C's, it is a tough act to match.
SATURDAY NBA FREE PICK: BOSTON CELTICS PICK'EM