In my humble opinion, if the Celtics let Jayson Tatum play tonight after injuring his ankle last time out, that is borderline malpractice. I applaud Tatum if he is pushing to play, but there is just zero reason to allow that. The Celtics have nothing to play for the rest of the RS. The Suns are in a dogfight for the last WC spot in the West. And getting a TD?

This will be Boston's third road game in four days and their fourth in six days. Jayson Tatum, the Celtics' leading scorer, is doubtful for the game due to a left ankle sprain. Phoenix ranks in the top three for effective field goal percentage, with a rate of 56.8%. Boston has struggled with offensive rebounding, posting a 27% rate and low free-throw rate of 17.4%. Phoenix is riding a six-game home winning streak dating back to March 4 as they look to remain playoff-relevant. Grab the points.

This is a nice discount and buy low opportunity on Jrue Holidays PRA line. Boston is set to play without MVP candidate Jayson Tatum who is one of the highest usage players in the league. I expect Jrue to be one of the biggest beneficiaries considering he’s a more capable scorer and playmaker than his numbers suggest. We’re also getting a sizable discount considering he’s had a couple of low output games. I like the matchup against Phoenix who should be competitive and are very generous to opposing guards. Jrue doesn’t even have to shoot well or do a whole lot to eclipse a line this low. I’d play this up to 19.5.

Jayson Tatum (ankle) is listed as doubtful to play against the Suns. Kristaps Porzingis has played in four games that Tatum has missed this season and he recorded at least 27 combined points and rebounds in three of them. This is a great matchup for him against the Suns, who have the fifth-worst defensive rating in the league and struggle to slow down opposing centers. The Suns have also been playing well lately, so this game could remain close throughout. There should be plenty of minutes and shot attempts for Porzingis to have a good opportunity to hit this over.

This might be a rare night when the Celtics, six straight wins or not, are vulnerable, with word that Jayson Tatum is doubtful after spraining an ankle at Sacto on Monday. It makes no sense for Tatum to play, especially as Boston seems locked into the second seed in the East, with little chance of enhancing or damaging its playoff position. Not so for Phoenix, battling to make the West play-in round, with the Suns just inside after their fourth straight win on Monday. The playoff-bound Cavs and Bucks have been beaten in the last two games of this spotless homestand, with Kevin Durant scoring a crisp 40 ppg across those pair of wins as the playoff push continues in the desert. Play Suns.

Never thought the Suns would get their defense turned around, but here we are. They are playing their best ball of the season and allowing just 107/G the last 5 games and 4th in opposing FG%. The Celtics are second-best in the NBA over the last 5 games, allowing 103.8/G. The Suns are under in 6 of their last 8 games and the Celtics are under in 6 of their last 8 games, all of those going under by at least 8 points. Boston is getting weary on a long road trip and have been resting some legs here. This will be their fourth game in six days and probably not going to be in up-tempo mode here. Both teams are focused on getting stops.