Lakers vs. Celtics Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for December 13 (LA's Stars Come Out to Play at crypto.com Arena)

Lakers vs. Celtics Game Info

• Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2022
• Time: 10:00 PM ET
• Venue: Crypto.com Arena -- Los Angeles, California
• Coverage: TNT

Five matchups are on the NBA's Tuesday, Dec. 13 schedule, including a classic rivalry game between the Los Angeles Lakers (11-15) and Boston Celtics (21-7).

A weight was lifted off the Lakers after Sunday's 124-117 victory over the Detroit Pistons snapped the former's three-game losing streak. The Celtics, on the other hand, could use a win after losing back-to-back outings — including a 113-93 loss to the LA Clippers on Monday night.

Can the Lakers move one step closer to a .500 record with a win tonight? Or will the Celtics put their losing ways to bed with a turnaround effort?

Lakers vs. Celtics Odds & Spread

• All NBA betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: BOS: (-166) | LAL: (+140)
• Spread: BOS: -3.5 (-114) | LAL: +3.5 (-106)
• Total: 235 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Celtics enter this contest as slight road favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 10 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 235 points, which is the highest of Tuesday's projected totals.

Lakers vs. Celtics Betting Trends

• The Celtics are 15-11-1 against the spread this season.
• This year, the Lakers have just two against the spread wins in 13 games as an underdog of 3 points or more.
• This season, 13 of the Celtics' games have gone over the point total out of 25 chances.
• The Lakers have hit the over 56% of the time this year (14 of 25 games with a set point total).
• Boston has covered the spread in a higher percentage of its home games than road games. It has covered eight times in 12 opportunities when playing at home, and it has covered seven times in 15 opportunities on the road.
• Los Angeles' winning percentage against the spread at home is .500 (6-6-0). On the road, it is .385 (5-8-0).

Lakers vs. Celtics Prediction & Pick

Though it can be argued that the Celtics are the better team on paper, things are working against them. Tonight marks their sixth consecutive road game and they'll be playing on less than 24 hours of rest. Playing this much on a road has clearly affected Boston's offense well, highlighted by its averaging just 100.0 PPG in the last two games.

The Celtics' frontcourt is also short-handed with big men Robert Williams (knee) and Al Horford (personal) already being ruled out. Needless to say, it's going to be tough containing LeBron James and Anthony Davis down low. LeBron is coming off a 35-point effort while playing just 37 minutes in his last outing, while Davis is averaging 32.0 points and 14.2 rebounds in his last 12 games.

The likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will keep things close for the Celtics, but I don't like how things are shaping up for them down the middle. With Los Angeles also being 4-1 straight up in its last five home games, look for the Lakers to emerge as the victors.

Final Score Prediction: Lakers: 116 | Celtics: 112

Lakers vs. Celtics Best Bet

Even though this game has the highest projected total of the night, don't expect a shootout. Neither team is running on full rest. As mentioned before, the Celtics' offense has suffered more the longer this road trip has gone on. Furthermore, this will also be the Lakers' first game at crypto.com Arena since Nov. 30, so they're also likely tired after a six-game trip.

With Williams and Horford also being ruled out, Boston is without their combined 19.5 PPG. While that isn't a huge number, it's still big enough to make a difference. Including how the total has also hit the under in each of Boston's last 10 road games, it's a no-brainer to back the under again tonight.

Bet: Under 235 Points (-110)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.