Charlotte Hornets at Boston Celtics NBA Pick for Sunday, April 4, 2021

Two teams who are in the mix for playoff spots in the Eastern conference tonight at the TD Garden when the Boston Celtics host the Charlotte Hornets. For Boston, they’re still trying to gather momentum in what’s been a disappointing season to this point. Charlotte, meanwhile, needs to right the ship in the midst of two crucial injuries.

When you look at these two teams, they are separated by only a game-and-a-half in the standings. Yet Charlotte sits in fourth in the East while Boston is in eighth-place in the standings. That’s how close things are in the conference once you get past the Top 3 of Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Milwaukee.

Coming into this game, Charlotte has picked up wins in five of their last seven to leapfrog a few teams in the standings. Boston continues to be mired in mediocrity, which is a huge disappointment for a team with championship aspirations. What’s hurt them lately are close losses; in a recent stretch where they’ve gone 4-4, all four of the defeats have been by fewer than six points.

Moneyline Betting Odds: Charlotte vs Boston

• Boston Celtics (-400)
• Charlotte Hornets (+320)

Spread Betting Odds: Hornets at Celtics

• Boston Celtics -9 (-110)
• Charlotte Hornets +9 (-110)

Over/Under Betting Odds: Charlotte Hornets at Boston Celtics

• Over 216.5 (-110)
• Under 216.5 (-110)

Injury Report

For the early part of the season as they proved to be one of the league’s overachievers, the Hornets stayed blissfully clear of any major injuries to their core talent. The first big blow was the loss of LaMelo Ball, who seemed to be on his way to NBA Rookie of the Year honors, to a fractured wrist. At best, the timetable for Ball calls for him to be back just as the postseason begins.

While the Hornets played well initially without Ball, the other shoe dropped in their win on Friday night over Indiana:

Hornets‘ Gordon Hayward will miss at least four weeks with right foot sprain, team says.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 3, 2021

Hayward’s history of injuries has been well-documented. His play this year for Charlotte, while maybe a notch below the top levels of his career, was still crucial as a stabilizing force for a young team. Now he also looks iffy to be back in the saddle by the time Charlotte hits the playoffs, assuming that they do hold onto their position.

On top of that, Malik Monk, who had only just returned himself, suffered an ankle injury against Brooklyn earlier in the week and is out for another few weeks. Monk is a streaky offensive performer off the bench, but there have been games where he has carried the Hornets this season. With no Ball, Hayward and Monk, this team will be a little bit light on the perimeter.

For the Celtics, All-Star Jaylen Brown is listed as questionable with a knee contusion. It was considered to be minor when it occurred the other night against Houston, but who knows how the injury has progressed since then. If he is forced to sit, newly-acquired Evan Fournier will step in and receive starter’s minutes.

All Hail The Time Lord

Coming into the season, Boston seemed poised to go to battle with a three-headed center approach. There were established vets Daniel Theis, the returning starter, and Tristan Thompson, an offseason pickup. And then there was third-year pro Robert Williams, who had played sporadically in his first few seasons but has tantalized at times with his talent.

Early in the year, Williams was still largely a role player, and time on the shelf in January with the COVID virus set him back, both in terms of the games he missed and the limited minutes he received when he returned as he revved up his conditioning. But in the last month or so, he has been a revelation and one of the few bright spots in the Celtics disappointing year.

Take a look at how he ramped things up between the months of February and March:

• Williams in February: 15.8 MPG, 6.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.1 APG, 1.1 BPG, 1.0 SPG
• Williams in March: 22.9 MPG, 10.0 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.9 BPG, 0.7 SPG

And that was all before he uncorked a dazzling performance the other night against Houston to kick off the month of April:

Robert Williams tonight:

20 PTS

9 REB

8 AST

9-9 FG

He joins Nikola Jokic and Wilt Chamberlain (3x) as the only centers with a 20/8/8 game on 100% shooting in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/WaH4zCDHVP

— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 3, 2021

Part of the reason that Williams has thrived is because he has been cleared of competition. Theis was offloaded at the deadline, and Thompson is working his way back from health and safety protocols. But even before all that occurred, Celtic Coach Brad Stevens had hinted that they would be adding minutes to Williams as he built up his conditioning, perhaps knowing that the Time Lord, as he is affectionately known to Boston fans, was his best option in the middle.

Against Charlotte tonight, Williams could be especially effective. Bismack Biyombo gets the start at center for them, but only plays a few limits and is extremely limited. Cody Zeller is workmanlike off the bench, and although Charlotte could go with P.J. Washington as a small-ball center, he would have a hard time keeping Williams off the board.

It wouldn’t have seemed likely at the start of the year, when Boston’s edge seemed to be on the perimeter with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker, but Williams might be their most valuable player right now. If they are to dispose of the banged-up Hornets and cover that nine-point margin, it will be because Williams lorded over all in the middle.

Who Steps Up?

The Hornets defeated Indiana on Friday night pretty handily (114-97), even with Hayward going down after just 19 minutes of playing time and their excellent guard combo of Terry Rozier and Devonte Graham combining to shoot an ugly 9 for 38 from the field. But their bench, which had been thinned out once Ball was injured and Graham had to return to the starting lineup, stepped in a big way in the victory:

• Miles Bridges: 23 points, 10 rebounds, 8 of 12 shooting, 4 of 7 from three
• Cody Zeller: 17 points, 7 of 7 shooting
• Brad Wannamaker: 13 points, 4 assists

Bridges is no surprise, since he’s been sort of like the sixth starter for this team all year. His play the next few weeks in Hayward’s absence will be crucial. While he’s not the shooter that Hayward is, his ability to rebound and finish on fast breaks will give them a different look.

His play on Friday suggests Wannamaker could be a key cog down the stretch for Charlotte, especially with all the injuries. Look for him to get big minutes again today against his old team.

What’s The Best Bet?

Boston has suffered through some close losses lately, which actually feels like a good sign for them. They’re getting back to the point where they’re being competitive against the best teams, and now it’s just a matter of them sealing the deal. Meanwhile, Charlotte might start to slide, as all of these injuries eventually have to hurt.

The Hornets could have a tough time matching up with Boston, not just on the perimeter against Tatum, Brown (if he plays), Walker and Fournier, but also now inside against Williams. Look for Boston to put together its second straight comfortable win. They should cover at home.