Boston Celtics vs Portland Trail Blazers Preview & Predictions – 12/28/2025

The Boston Celtics head into Sunday’s matchup at the Portland Trail Blazers looking to extend their recent winning streak, while Portland grapples with a lengthy list of absences and a losing streak that they’d like to snap. Both teams have had very different seasons, with Boston sitting comfortably above .500 and Portland struggling to find consistency for the year. Here, I break down this inter-conference matchup in the NBA and give you my Celtics vs Trail Blazers prediction for Sunday.

Our Celtics vs Trail Blazers Pick

Game Snapshot

• Matchup: Boston Celtics @ Portland Trail Blazers
• Date & Time: Sunday, December 28, 2025, 6:00 PM ET
• Venue: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
• Broadcast: NBA League Pass

Key Storylines

• The Celtics have been firing on all cylinders lately, winning their last four games. Jaylen Brown has been superb and continues to lead Boston’s offensive attack, averaging nearly 30 points per game this year. Recent wins have been highlighted by deep shooting performances from the supporting cast, including Sam Hauser’s 23-point outburst from beyond the arc in their most recent contest.
• Portland enters this game reeling, having lost three straight and struggling to close out games, most recently falling 119-103 at home despite a strong first half. The Blazers’ injury list is extensive, with Scoot Henderson, Jrue Holiday, Blake Wesley, Matisse Thybulle, Jerami Grant, and Damian Lillard all sidelined. This has forced acting head coach Tiago Splitter to lean on lesser-used players and experimental rotations, weakening Portland’s defensive and offensive consistency.
• Boston’s balance of scoring and defense has been a strength this season. They are averaging roughly 117 points per game while allowing about 110. They have shot nearly 50% from the field over the last 10 games and the Celtics will try to remain efficient on the offensive end of the floor to get a fifth straight win here.

Head-to-Head & Betting Trends

• Boston holds a clear advantage in the recent games between these teams, winning the last six meetings with three consecutive season series sweeps.
• This is the first meeting between the Celtics and Trail Blazers this season.
• The Celtics are 17-12-1 against the spread this season, and 7-4 ATS when favored by 6.5 points or more.
• Portland has a 15-16 ATS record this year.
• Portland is 18-13 favoring the over going into this matchup.
• The Celtics have stayed under the total in 16 of their 30 games this year.

Best Player Props to Watch

Celtics vs Trail Blazers Model Projection

Final Thoughts

Jay Sanin

Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.