[SportSteem Pick] Celtics Win a Close One (under 212.5)

Let's take a break from Lonzo's little brother creating an international incident in China and look at tonight's Celtics-Lakers showdown. Boston is red-hot, winners of 9 in a row, while the Lakers are NOT THAT BAD. They had low expectations but have won 3 out of 4 and seem to be a pretty decent team. They're young, long, and play hard under Bill Walton Jr.

You wouldn't expect it from two young teams, but both are excellent defensively. The Celtics are tops in the NBA in points allowed and DRtg and the Lakers are 7th. Because of that, I see this being a defensive battle and coming in under 212.5. In terms of the outcome, I think Boston wins but won't cover the 9-pt spread. It'll also be interesting to see which starting lineup Brad goes with. So far, he has a "small" and a "big" starting lineup:

Small: Kyrie/Jaylen/Tatum/Morris/Horford
Big: Kyrie/Jaylen/Tatum/Horford/Baynes

I predict he goes big, allowing Baynes to bang with Lopez to save Horford the wear and tear. That'd put Horford on Kuzma, Kyrie on Ball, and Jaylen/Tatum on KCP/Ingram. Ideally, this would allow Baynes' minutes to line up with Lopez's since that's really the only guy on the Lakers that Baynes can guard. But I think Brad will be quick to take Baynes out if Lopez starts hitting 3s - which he can do - because Baynes will have trouble chasing him out that far from the hoop.

Lonzo v. Tatum

2nd pick vs. 3rd pick. Duke v. Ucla. At this point in the season, Tatum has been better - averaging 14/6 with ridiculous 50/54 splits. Lonzo, on the other hand, can't shoot with 30/23 splits and averaging less than 10 points per game. But Lonzo is a better shooter than he's showed and Tatum will come back to Earth. Tatum won't shoot 50% from 3 all year and Lonzo's numbers will climb up closer to his college averages. I expect Lonzo to make a couple shots tonight and get back on track.

Pick: Celtics ML, under 212.5