NBA Betting Preview: Celtics at Hornets

The Boston Celtics and New Orleans Hornets are both expected to make the playoffs but neither team is playing very well right now. Both teams will be looking to reverse their fortunes when they meet on Wednesday night in New Orleans (8:05 p.m. ET, NBA TV).

The Celtics are coming off a home loss on Sunday to Orlando while the Hornets also lost to Orlando on Monday. The Celtics lead the season series against New Orleans – they won back in November – and Boston swept the season series against the Hornets a year ago, winning both games.

The Celtics are listed as 4-point favorites at SBG Global and the total is set at 192.

Paul Pierce has been dealing with an injury and he may not play for Boston on Wednesday.

“Paul didn’t do a lot today,” said head coach Doc Rivers on Monday. “We actually pulled him out early. He practiced, but he wasn’t moving well and we just took him out. He’s questionable. I think he’s going to play, but right now we’ll wait and see.”

Although the Celtics have not played well of late, Rivers is pleased with the team’s attitude.

“They responded with a great practice, so that’s good. We have to get back to work, back to that workman mentality – back to being the best defensive team in the NBA,” Rivers said.

“We have to get back to executing better. We can’t just keep relying on guys coming back from injuries. That’s thrown us off because of a lack of practice time, but that’s become an excuse around here and we’re not going to allow that. We can’t allow that.”

Pierce led the Celtics with 29 points per game last season against the Hornets while David West led New Orleans with 19 points per game. Boston is 8-3 against New Orleans since the 2004-2005 season. Pierce had 27 points in the win over New Orleans in November.

Here are some key NBA betting stats for Wednesday’s game:

The Celtics are 15-7 ATS in their last 22 vs. the Southwest Division. The Celtics are 2-9-1 ATS in their last 12 games overall.

The Hornets are 0-6 ATS in their last six home games. The Hornets are 0-7 ATS in their last seven vs. the Atlantic.

The under is 4-1 in the Celtics’ last five overall. The over is 4-0 in the Hornets’ last four overall.

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