• The Washington Wizards open their season against the defending NBA-champion Boston Celtics on Thursday
• After cruising in their season-opener, the Celtics are 13.5-point favorites over the Wizards
• See the Celtics vs Wizards odds, player props, and predictions for Oct. 24

Coming off one the worst season in franchise history, the Washington Wizards (15-67, 7-34 home, 36-43-3 ATS last season) open the new campaign with the toughest possible opponent as they welcome the Boston Celtics (1-0, 0-0 away, 1-0 ATS) to Capital One Arena on Thursday night at 7:10 pm ET. The defending-champion Celtics are 13.5-point road favorites.

Boston Celtics vs Washington Wizards Odds

In addition to being 13.5-point ATS favorites, the Celtics are also -1400 moneyline chalk in Thursday’s NBA odds. The Wizards, who were an NBA-worst 7-34 on their home court last year, are +700 underdogs to win straight-up.

ESPN BET

Get a First Bet Reset Up To $1,000 if Your First Bet Loses!

Must manually enter promo code DIME to claim offer.

LOCK IN PROMO

CODE: DIME

CODE: DIME

SIGNUP OFFER

USE PROMO CODE
DIME

FIRST BET RESET UP TO $1,000

GET OFFER NOW

 Odds as of Oct. 24 at ESPN Bet. Lock in this ESPN Bet promo code to bet on the NBA. 

The game total is sitting at 231.5. Washington went 43-38-1 O/U last year, averaging 236.7 PPG, third-highest in the league. The Celtics were 43-39 O/U in the regular season, averaging 229.8 PPG.

Boston flew over the total in their win over the Knicks on Tuesday. The 132-109 final score (241 points) was nearly 20 points over the 221.5 total.

Celtics vs Wizards Injuries

Both teams are already dealing with significant absences. On the Boston side, Kristaps Porzingis is out with a foot injury while Sam Hauser is a game-time decision due to a back issue.

On the Washington side, two important offseason acquisitions will miss the Wizard’s home opener: point guard Malcolm Brogdon is out with a thumb injury while wing Saddiq Bey is out with a knee injury.

BOS vs WSH Player Props

NBA player props from DraftKings on Oct. 24

Coming off a massive 37-point performance on Tuesday, Jayson Tatum has the highest point total of the night at 28.5, followed by Jaylen Brown at 23.5. Kyle Kuzma has the highest total on the Washington side at just 19.5.

With Boston center Porzingis is out with a foot injury, Tatum also has the highest rebound total on the board at 8.5.

Celtics vs Wizards Prediction

The Celtics dominated the Wizards last season, going 4-0 with an average margin of victory of 14.8 PPG. The Wizards did manage to win the first quarter in one of the matchups, though, and are priced at a long +225 (30.7% implied probability) to do so again on Thursday.

While Boston was nearly unbeatable at home in last year’s championship season (37-4 in the regular season) they were far from perfect on the road (27-14). No team was worse at home than the Wizards last season but they did manage to win their home opener against Memphis, which included a strong 25-22 start in the first quarter.

I’m not saying the Wizards should be favored in the first-quarter moneyline, but the price on Washington jumping out to an early lead is longer than it should be.

BOS vs WSH picks: Wizards first-quarter moneyline (+225)

Sascha Paruk’s 2024-25 NBA betting record: 3-2 (+0.10 units). All wagers one unit unless expressly stated otherwise. 

The post Celtics vs Wizards Odds, Predictions & Player Props (Oct 24) appeared first on Sports Betting Dime.