Phoenix Suns vs. Boston Celtics Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 12/31/2021

Time: 1 p.m. ET 

Venue: TD Garden, Boston, MA

Where to watch: Bally Sports Arizona, NBC Sports Boston

DraftKings: NL

BetMGM: Suns -3.5

Caesars: NL

Suns: 27-7 (2nd place, Western Conference)

Celtics: 16-19 (10th place, Eastern Conference)

Suns: won 115-97 vs. Thunder on Wednesday

Celtics: lost 91-82 vs. Clippers on Wednesday

The Phoenix Suns hit the road for the first time in almost two weeks when they visit the Boston Celtics on Friday for a New Year’s Eve extravaganza.

Or an early-day NYE coma to get you through the morning/early afternoon, whichever you prefer.

The Suns won for the first time in three games Wednesday with a 115-97 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to wrap up their four-game homestand. More importantly than the win, Devin Booker has been looks better than ever since returning from that hamstring injury.

Booker tied a season-high with 38 points on 12 of 24 shooting and made six 3-pointers, as the Suns shot 46 percent from the floor as a team. JaVale McGee and Cam Payne had 16 points each.

Booker became the seventh-youngest NBA player to reach 10,000 career points on Wednesday, putting himself in some good company -- LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Not bad for paying your dues with horrible seasons for the beginning of his career.

"It means a lot," Booker said. "Truly grateful to be in this position. I have a lot of praise for my coaches for trusting a young kid and letting me play through mistakes because everybody doesn't get that opportunity."

The Suns ended a three-game ATS losing streak with the narrow margin victory against the Thunder. They’ve been favored in their last 10, going 6-4 ATS with the over going 5-4-1 in that span.

The Celtics have lost three in a row and four of five while being favored in four of those games. Boston is coming off a 9-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, playing as 6-point favorites against a depleted L.A. team without half its roster.

Boston is dealing with its own COVID problems, minus Jayson Tatum and Dennis Schroder. Top defensive guard Marcus Smart (cut) was also absent. As a result, Jaylen Brown had to step up the scoring with 30 points … but took an astounding 36 shots to get there. Robert Williams III had 16 points and 14 rebounds on 8 of 10 shooting, which is a far cry from what the rest of his teammates did; Boston shot 34.7 percent and just 4 of 42 from 3-point range.

Yes, that’s four makes out of 42.

“We missed a lot of easy looks,” said Brown, the lone Boston all-star who was just 1 of 13 himself from deep.

Forget just getting some key players back. Head coach Ime Udoka needs a priest for something.

Prediction

Booker returns to the place where he dropped 70 once upon a time. I don’t think he’ll get that far, but this should be an easy game for the Suns. Phoenix has won three out of the last four and has covered eight of the last 10. If this gets too close, burn everything to the ground. Suns by 15

Betting trends

The Suns are 5-1 ATS in their last six against teams with a losing record.

The under is 5-1 in the last six meetings.

The Celtics are 7-6 ATS this season against non-conference teams.

PG: Chris Paul

SG: Devin Booker
SF: Mikal Bridges
PF: Cameron Johnson
C: Jalen Smith

PG: Marcus Smart

SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Romeo Langford
PF: Al Horford
C: Robert Williams III

Key injuries

Suns: Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, Javale McGee (all COVID, out)

Celtics: Jayson Tatum (COVID, out), Dennis Schroder (COVID, out)