Suns vs. Celtics Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for Monday, March 16

Both the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns are battling for position in the playoffs heading into Monday night’s matchup in Boston.

The C’s are the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and have a chance to gain some ground on the No. 1-seeded Detroit Pistons, who lost to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. Meanwhile, Phoenix is 1.5 games out of the No. 6 seed in the West as it continues an insanely surprising 2025-26 season.

Devin Booker and the Suns are down two key rotation pieces on Monday in Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams, which has led oddsmakers to set Boston as an 8.5-point favorite at home.

Jayson Tatum (Achilles) is off the injury report and expected to play in his fifth game of the 2025-26 season for Boston. I have a player prop that I’m eyeing for Tatum in this game, as well as a bet on the total between two of the league’s best defenses.

First, let’s examine the latest odds, injuries and more for Monday night's matchup.

Suns vs. Celtics Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

Suns +8.5 (-102)
Celtics -8.5 (-118)

Moneyline

Suns: +310
Celtics: -395

Total

213.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Suns vs. Celtics How to Watch

Date: Monday, March 16
Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
Venue: TD Garden
How to Watch (TV): NBC Sports Boston, Arizona’s Family Sports
Suns record: 39-28
Celtics record: 44-23

Suns vs. Celtics Injury Reports

Suns Injury Report

Mark Williams – out
Dillon Brooks – out

Celtics Injury Report

Nikola Vucevic – out
John Tonje – out

Suns vs. Celtics Best NBA Prop Bets

Celtics Best NBA Prop Bet

Jayson Tatum OVER 11.5 Rebounds and Assists (-139)

Earlier today, I shared in my NBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – why I’m betting Tatum to contribute everywhere against Phoenix:

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has played in four games since returning from a ruptured Achilles, and he’s actually looked pretty close to his usual self.

Tatum is averaging 19.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, but his shot is still coming along, as he’s just 40.0 percent from the field and 27.5 percent from 3. Tatum has 12 or more rebounds and assists in two of his four games, tallying 19 in his debut and 21 in his last game against the Washington Wizards.

I think this line is a little low for the C’s star, as Tatum has shown a desire to defer to Jaylen Brown and others on offense. Plus, just last season Tatum averaged 8.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.

In his four games this season, the All-NBA forward is averaging 12.5 rebound chances and 9.3 potential assists per game. That gives him a terrific floor when it comes to this prop against Phoenix.

Since Tatum’s shooting has been up and down, I’ll back him to stuff the stat sheet on Monday.

Suns vs. Celtics Prediction and Pick

Another play from today’s Peter’s Points, I like the UNDER between these two elite defenses:

These are two of the best UNDER teams in the NBA, as Boston has hit the UNDER an NBA-best 65.7 percent of the time this season while the Suns are fourth in UNDER percentage (58.2%).

The style of play for both of these teams is the reason why they play so many low-scoring games, even though Boston has one of the best offenses in the NBA. The C’s rank dead last in the league in pace this season, and they also defend at a high level.

Boston is fifth in the league in defensive rating and allows the fewest points per game (107.0) in the NBA.

Phoenix fits right into Boston’s slow play style, as it ranks 25th in the league in pace and sixth in opponent points per game (111.2). The Suns are also ninth in the league in defensive rating.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see this game finish in the low 200s, as Boston has fallen short of 213.5 points in nine of 12 games since the All-Star break.

Pick: UNDER 213.5 (-105 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.

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