Boston Celtics: 5 reasons why tonight’s game against Rockets is “must-win”

Reason #2 why the Boston Celtics must win tonight: The Jazz are next

The Cs had a great chance to gain some ground in the standings this past Thursday when an opportunity presented itself in the form of a Kevin Durant-less matchup with the Brooklyn Nets on the docket.

Boston couldn’t claim the win in that one, which puts even more pressure on tonight’s matchup with Houston. With the Rockets–owners of the league’s third-worst record–playing host on Sunday, the Cs get a brief reprieve before playing the Utah Jazz at home on Tuesday in one of the season’s biggest tests.

Utah is vanquishing just about everyone in their path, but the Cs are built to match up well with the Jazz. Any stylistic advantages would be muted if the team is playing from behind, which would be the case following an upset loss to Houston.

Reason #3 why the Boston Celtics must win tonight: -11 betting favorites

For all the bettors out there, tonight’s contest against the Houston Rockets has trap game potential. The Rockets barely covered a +15.5 point spread on Friday night against the Jazz, losing by 15.

Tonight, the spread is (currently) at -11, and while Boston isn’t guaranteed to cover, a win is all but expected by Las Vegas given the fact that the line reads like a March Madness game between a #3 and #14 seed in the round of 64.

It would be a horrendous look to drop a contest to such a massive underdog during a season where the Cs have been 17-20 against the spread.