BOS
HOU
Boston Celtics @ Houston Rockets
Any-day matchup · ratings as of
Our pick
HOUHouston Rockets
63% to win
A probability, not a promise. A 63% pick still loses about 4 times in 10.
Advantages Why Rockets can win
- Simulation: the Rockets win 6,320 of 10,000 simulated games.
- Home court: the Rockets play at home, worth about 2 points in today's NBA.
- Recent form: average margin over the last five games, Rockets +14.2, Celtics +8.0.
- Recent scoring margins: worth about 1.7 points to the Rockets in our ratings.
- Efficiency (points per 100 possessions): worth about 1.2 points to the Rockets in our ratings.
Disadvantages Why Rockets may not
- Ball security (turnovers per 100 possessions): Celtics 2nd (12.7), Rockets 26th (15.4).
- Upset odds: the Celtics win 3,680 of 10,000 simulations (37%). A 63% pick still loses about 4 times in 10.
- Range of outcomes: in the worst 10% of simulations the Rockets lose by 13 or more.
- Weak spot: the Rockets rank 26th of 30 in ball security (turnovers per 100 possessions) (15.4).
- Defensive rebounding (share of misses): Celtics 4th (75.9%), Rockets 10th (74.4%).
The line and our numbers
| Market | AZMango | |
|---|---|---|
| Spread | No line yet | HOU -4.5 |
| Total points | n/a | 224.2 |
| Win chance | BOS n/a · HOU n/a | BOS 37% · HOU 63% |
| Fair moneyline | BOS +172 · HOU -172 |
No betting line for this pairing. Odds change all the time, so check a sportsbook before acting on any number here.
10,000 simulated games, possession by possession
- Typical score: Rockets 115, Celtics 110.
- 80% of simulations land between Celtics by 13 and Rockets by 21.
Side by side
| BOS | HOU | |
|---|---|---|
| 3-1 | Record | 5-0 |
| +7.5 4 | Net rating | +5.2 6 |
| 116.6 2 | Offensive rating | 114.6 8 |
| 109.1 5 | Defensive rating | 109.4 6 |
| 55.1% 10 | Effective FG% | 54.0% 18 |
| 52.2% 4 | Opponent eFG% | 53.0% 6 |
| 12.7 2 | Turnovers per 100 | 15.4 26 |
| 29.0% 6 | Offensive rebound % | 34.3% 1 |
| 36.5% 8 | 3-point % | 36.2% 11 |
| 98.1 30 | Pace | 100.0 27 |
Small numbers are league ranks (1 = best of 30; pace 1 = fastest). Ratings are points per 100 possessions (2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons).
Last 5 meetings
| Date | Season | Score | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-04 | 2025-26 | BOS 114 @ HOU 93 | BOS |
| 2025-11-01 | 2025-26 | HOU 128 @ BOS 101 | HOU |
| 2025-01-27 | 2024-25 | HOU 114 @ BOS 112 | HOU |
| 2025-01-03 | 2024-25 | BOS 109 @ HOU 86 | BOS |
| 2024-01-21 | 2023-24 | BOS 116 @ HOU 107 | BOS |
No betting line exists for a game that isn't scheduled, so this uses our own power ratings (in the backtest they pick about 66% of winners, against about 68% for the closing line), with both teams at full strength.
Basis: power ratings only (no betting line yet). 10,000 simulated games, checked against a walk-forward backtest of 10,227 NBA games since 2018-19. Model version 1. How it works