Look for Celtics to extend home-team dominance in Game 7
Home has certainly been sweet in the Celtics-Wizards playoff series, with all six games won by the host team, including five against the spread.
There’s also been no place like home historically in NBA Game 7s, with the home team going 101-26 (79.5 percent) straight-up. Home teams have gone 23-7 SU the past nine postseasons and 18-12 ATS.
The numbers support a play on Boston, a 5-point favorite over Washington in Monday’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the TD Garden.
Most of the action at Las Vegas sports books has been on the Celtics, who opened as 4-point favorites.
“They’re laying points and betting the Celtics on the money line (minus-230). It’s been steady Boston support,” Westgate sports book manager Jeff Sherman said Monday. “It’s difficult for a team to win Game 7 on the road. I don’t know about the spread coming into play or not. But I’d be somewhat surprised if the Wizards won the game. I expect Boston to get the W here.”
The Celtics were in control for most of Game 6 on Friday before John Wall nailed a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left to lift the Wizards to a 92-91 victory. Including the regular season, the home team is 10-0 overall (9-1 ATS) in the matchup. Boston, which was a 5-point underdog in Game 6, became the first road team in the series to cover.
The Celtics won their first 10 Game 7s with Bill Russell in the lineup and have since gone 11-8 for a 21-8 overall mark. Boston is 18-4 in Game 7s at home, where it averaged 126 points in the first two games of the series and has scored an average of 120 points in four wins this season over Washington.
The Wizards, who squandered double-digit leads in Games 1 and 2 at the Garden, have lost eight straight in Boston and 17 of 20.
“It’s a big pressure game,” William Hill sports book director Nick Bogdanovich said. “Whichever team gets off to a good start has the advantage. Once panic sets in, the lead can get out of control fast.”
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Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-266-6080. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
