After last year’s No. 2-No. 7 matchup, Boston Celtics fans are finally reaching a state of nirvana considering the rapid role reversal here in 2022.
This time around, it is the Brooklyn Nets that are missing a star (if we’re still calling Ben Simmons that) and is on the brink of elimination at the hands of the other team that was part of the infamous 2013 Billy King trade.
Up 3-0 after an inspiring buzzer-beating Game 1 win, followed by seven and six-point victories, the Cs are rolling into Game 4 with almost nothing to lose.
They won’t be joined on the court by Nets point forward Ben Simmons, who has announced that he will be missing Game 4 due to an oddly timed flare-up in his back right before a scheduled Game 4 return.
Does that spell the end of the Nets’ season, or will Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and co. have one last stand in Brooklyn?
Hardwood Houdini has your odds, lays a prediction for the TNT-televised Eastern Conference postseason tilt:
Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets odds, spread, over/under
According to WynnBet, the Celtics are a 1-point underdog against the Nets on the road. Brooklyn is a favorite at home at -120, with the Cs moneyline set at +100. The over/under for the game has been placed at 220 points.
Celtics vs. Nets prediction
This season has been marred by controversy in Kings County, between Kyrie Irving’s vaccine hesitancy to the benching of veterans like LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin, and Paul Millsap (who was dealt to Philly in the Ben Simmons trade), to now not having Ben Simmons back when he is needed most.
Boston has executed perfectly in the postseason and are theoretically due for a slip-up, but the Houdini envisions the end of the current iteration of the Brooklyn Nets via a four-game sweep that concludes Monday night.