Author: Nick Parsons - Tuesday, December 04, 2007

December 4 - This is an excerpt from an article that I wrote in August detailing the off-season goings on by the Boston Celtics...

The addition of Garnett and Allen will surely cause the Celtics to become a more popular pick with the betting public. It's highly doubtful that they'll be able to match last season's ATS record on the road; however, an improvement at home should be expected. While perusing a couple of sites on the Internet, I found the Celtics at +2050 to win the Championship, a significant drop from last year when they were given no chance at all.

Currently sitting at 14-2, and getting out to one of the best starts in franchise history, (which of course is saying a lot!) Boston has now dropped to +685 to win the title, trailing only the Mavericks/Suns (+445), and the Spurs (+385).

After a very disappointing season in 2006 in which they finished 24-58 (23 games back), I was somewhat stunned to find that the Celtics actually posted a 41-39-2 mark against the spread. They were a dismal 13-27-1 ATS at home, but a surprising 28-12-1 ATS on the road.

The '07/'08 Celtics have started their campaign with seven straight up and ATS wins. Boston's first loss came by the hand of the Magic, 104-102 (more on Orlando later), and then the Cavaliers pushed the Celtics to overtime to eventually steal the game, winning 109-104. Boston has covered the spread in all but five games.

Barring a disaster of Michael Vick proportions, we can assume that the Celtics will make the playoffs and contend for the Eastern Conference crown. But who else will be there?

The Toronto Raptors own the second spot behind Boston in the Atlantic with a 9-8 record. The Pistons sit atop the Central divisions at 11-5 and the Orlando Magic are an unexpected 15-4 and have laid a solid claim to the top spot in the Southeast.

He's always been a work in progress, but it's obvious that it's a coming out party for Dwight Howard this year.

As awesome as the Celtics have played, the Magic have also been making significant noise. And a big part of their early success has been the play of Howard, a beast of a man who is averaging 23.8 points, 15 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest. Orlando's ATS record is even more impressive than the Celtics in fact, having covered the spread in all but three of their games.

Toronto, New Jersey, Cleveland, Indiana, and Washington are all hovering on, or slightly above or below .500. The potential for these clubs to make a run for the Eastern Conference crown is possible, however it's clear that the Celtics, Pistons and Magic are the teams to beat in the East.

Miami is 4-12 and look like a shell of their former selves. As bad as their record is though, the underachieving Heat are 8-8 ATS and should continue to offer good value in certain spots; this was evident when Miami pushed Boston to the brink on November 16th, losing 92-91, but easily covering with the hefty 11 point spread.

Detroit has been a perennial contender, but this is unexpected and new territory for Boston and Orlando.

In my next article I'll review the other coast, with some familiar faces battling it out for Western supremacy.

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