NBA Odds, Betting Picks & Predictions (Thursday, Aug. 13): Wizards vs. Celtics Preview

Wizards vs. Celtics Betting Odds & Picks

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Somehow, the Washington Wizards are still playing basketball. At least they're calling it basketball. The Wizards are 0-7 in the bubble, losing by 11.9 points per game. They've lost every game by at least eight points and now have 47 losses, as many as any team in the NBA this season outside of Golden State. Finally, mercifully, they have just one game left.

The Celtics have more than a game left, and they certainly look primed to play many more games this season. They've won four games in a row and are locked into the 3-seed, looking ready to make a deep playoff run.

Washington Wizards 

This game doesn't mean much to either team, but you figure it probably means more to the Wizards, who would sure love to not be the first 0-8 team in NBA bubble history.

This has been more Summer League than competitive ball for Washington without Bradley Beal or Davis Bertans, who clearly made the right choice sitting out. Instead, the team has featured Rui Hachimura as a top scorer, with Troy Brown doing a lot of handling on the team.

Washington has been … not atrocious on defense in the bubble? Compared to their horrible regular season, they've been more bad than awful. The Wizards are trying — they're just not very good.

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Boston Celtics

So you know all those Celtics you enjoy watching? They're not playing in this one. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Gordon Hayward and Daniel Theis are all sitting the regular season finale out. That's Boston's entire top six in their rotation and, frankly, it's deserved after a 122-107 domination of a desperate Memphis Grizzlies team on Tuesday.

Boston will match Washington's Summer League vibe in this one. Expect a lot of minutes for Grant Williams, Romeo Langford, Robert Williams and other youngsters like Carsen Edwards and Tacko Fall. But don't think that means these guys won't be trying. Boston has a strong team culture, and these guys are trying to prove themselves to Brad Stevens and earn some playoff minutes.

Boston's bench has been a bit of a question mark this season, and they're missing over 100 PPG with the players out. They're going to need a whole lot of shots from guys that don't normally get to take many.

Betting Analysis & Pick

Listen, if you absolutely need to make a pick on a meaningless August 13 game between Summer League teams with a 12 p.m. ET tip just because you can, more power to you. We have genuinely no idea who will play or what will happen in this game. I prefer Boston's collection of talent, even without all the usuals, so I'd lean Boston -1.5 if forced to pick a side.

If you're truly going to watch this game, I'd wait for either team to get a decent lead, hopefully near double digits, and then live bet the opposing moneyline as long as it's still sometime in the first half. With so much unknown, no lead is safe here, so I'm just looking for the best coin-flip odds I can get.

The PICK: Live bet the underdog moneyline

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