NBA betting: Those who bet Celtics over wins this season might be in for a bad beat

For practical purposes, the Boston Celtics don't have anything to play for the rest of this regular season.

The Celtics can't catch the Milwaukee Bucks for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. They can't lose the No. 2 seed to the Philadelphia 76ers because they have the tiebreaker. They'll be the second seed when the playoffs start.

Some bettors think the Celtics have plenty to play for in their final two games.

Boston's win total this season was 56.5 at BetMGM. With two games left, Boston is 55-25. They need to win both remaining games to clinch that over.

And there's no reason for them to win their final two games.

Will Celtics win out?

Part of betting any win totals is understanding that circumstances late in the season can affect a team, such as moving players at the trade deadline or having a playoff spot clinched early.

Still, for Celtics over bettors, not cashing that ticket would feel like a bad beat. Boston started the season 21-5. They were 35-12 shortly after. At 45-18, all Celtics over bettors needed was a 12-7 finish, which wasn't out of line with what Boston had done during the season.

Then the Celtics just played mostly average basketball. They fell further behind the Bucks for the No. 1 seed. They went on a 10-7 stretch, which isn't bad but not great for bettors who needed them to get to 57 wins.

There's still a chance for those over bettors. But it is going to be with the Celtics likely sitting starters on Friday vs. the Raptors and Sunday vs. the Hawks. At least both games are at home.

Wizards another potential bad beat

Of the 30 NBA teams, the win total for 28 of them has been settled. Some teams, like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Sacramento Kings, went way over the total. OKC has won 39 games after having a preseason win total of 26.5. The Kings are 48-32, well past the win total of 32.5. Teams like the Dallas Mavericks (38 wins with a preseason win total of 48.5) didn't come close to the over.

The Celtics are one of the two teams that haven't settled their win total bet yet. The other is the Washington Wizards. The Wizards had a win total of 35.5. They are 34-46 with two games to go. They play the Miami Heat at home Friday, and if they can win that, they should be big favorites against the Houston Rockets at home Sunday.

Those who had the over for the Wizards aren't happy. They were 30-32 at the beginning of March. That meant bettors needed a 6-14 finish to get the over. Then the Wizards went 4-14, and need to win out to get the over. The 4-14 stretch includes a current four-game losing streak when bettors needed a 2-4 finish for the over.

There's some drama left in the final weekend of the NBA season. Most win total bettors already know if they won or lost, but Boston and Washington bettors still have a sweat.