The NBA takes center stage on Wednesday night with a nationally televised game between two of the league's most storied franchises -- the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.



Boston is an 8.5-point favorite, down 1.5 points from where the line opened. The Over-Under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 212, up from an open of 210.



Before you make any bets on this classic rivalry, you'll want to see what SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh has to say.



Oh uses a data-driven approach to dominate NBA picks. Earlier this week, he used his projections to take Under 208 in the matchup between the Celtics and Magic. Final score: 104-88 -- a full 16 points under the total. Anybody who listened to Oh's advice didn't even break a sweat.



That win has helped Oh put together a scorching 6-1 run on his NBA selections. Anyone who has followed his picks is up big.



Part of his success: He co-founded AccuScore and specializes in sports simulations, projections, and statistical analysis. His NFL projection model at SportsLine is rated No. 1 by NFLPickWatch and was used by the three largest fantasy sports sites.



Now, he's analyzed Celtics vs. Lakers on Wednesday night from every possible angle and locked in his pick. And he's sharing it over at SportsLine.



The Lakers (5-5) have been a surprise so far. Their moves this offseason were primarily made with an eye to the future, especially the 2018 star-studded NBA free agency class. But this young team didn't seem to get the memo and has been extremely competitive.



L.A. has gotten strong performances from rookies Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma, while Brook Lopez, Jordan Clarkson, and Brandon Ingram have also stepped up. The Lakers are also catching the Celtics on a night where they'll be without star forward Al Horford, who has entered concussion protocol.



But that doesn't mean the Lakers will be able to make this one competitive and keep it within the spread.



They might be running into a buzzsaw in Boston. The Celtics are riding a nine-game winning streak. Boston will look to use its top-ranked defense, which allows a league-low 94.5 points per game, to slow the Lakers' attack.

No team has scored more than 94 points in the past seven games against the Celtics, and they're also 7-0 against the spread during that run.



It's no surprise that Oh is leaning Under in Celtics-Lakers, but what about the spread, which he's 6-1 picking? His projections point to a big edge for one team, and he's sharing who that is over at SportsLine.



So which side should you back in Lakers vs. Celtics on Wednesday? Visit SportsLine now to see what big statistical advantage determines which side of Celtics-Lakers you need to be all over, all from the expert who is gunning for his seventh correct NBA pick in his last eight selections, and find out!