NBA Basketball BETTING PREVIEW - Boston Celtics @ Houston Rockets

NBA Basketball

2026-02-04 - Boston Celtics at Houston Rockets

A Sports Betting Preview by FirstDown

Boston Celtics @ Houston Rockets
United States : NBA Basketball
Wednesday 4th February 2025 - Scheduled 8pm
1am (British Time)

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Preview

The trade deadline is now a little over twenty-four hours away and there have been some big moves made to just reshape the top of the list in terms of the contenders to win the NBA Championship.

The Boston Celtics (32-18) were supposed to have a quiet season with Jayson Tatum expected to miss the majority of the campaign. Instead the team have rallied together to sit third in the Eastern Conference and rumours swirl that Tatum's recovery is well on track to make a return in any Playoff run this team can put together.

With that said, the Celtics have been making some solid moves to improve the roster and they may yet be able to add more veteran experience to the team. Those workings will continue behind the scenes, but it is also important for the top players on the roster to know that the team is gearing up for another Playoff run and that removes uncertainty about what may happen.

Another team challenging at the top of the Conference standings were rumoured to be thinking about a reunion with James Harden, but it has not worked out for the Houston Rockets (31-17). Last night Harden was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but this is a well built Houston team and the development of the roster is one to be admired.

Of course bringing in someone who can just offer another spark Offensively is important and Houston are averaging the second fewest points per game in the top eight of the Western Conference. That could be something that hinders them in the post-season, although the Rockets continue to be one of the top Defensive teams in the NBA.

This game between two teams looking for strong Playoff runs could come down to which of the two is able to exert the Defensive dominance the best.

The Rockets are rested and the Boston Celtics are on a back to back, which is a potential factor, but they have not had to travel too far from Dallas to Houston for this game. Being effective at controlling the three point arc on the Defensive side of the court means the Offensive units may have to recycle the ball a little more and that all suggests this could be another low-scoring game featuring these two teams.

In recent games, neither the Celtics nor the Rockets are allowing teams to average more than 43% from the field and it does have to be said that both also have Offensive units that have to work harder for their points than some of the other top teams in the League.

Both teams have also seen the 'under' as the big trend in recent games with eight of the last ten Houston and Boston games both finishing below the total points line set.

It should be noted that the last two times these teams have faced one another, the over has been the winning selection, but seven of the previous eight had all finished below the total.

You have to always appreciate that a player can get hot from the field and just spark a back and forth game, but Defensive units should come out on top in this one and that is the approach we will take to the latest NBA selection.

Prediction

The Celtics did play on Tuesday night, but they should still be able to produce enough Defensive intensity to limit the scoring and see the total line set for this match unsurpassed.

The Pick :

Houston Rockets 106-102 Boston Celtics

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Under 218 Total Points at -110 with Bovada