Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics Series Preview and Prediction
Moneyline: Celtics -350, 76ers +260
Line: Celtics -1.5, 76ers +1.5
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics Betting Odds Breakdown
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics are meeting up in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Boston is coming into this series as the favorite at -1.5, and the moneyline is sitting at -350 for the Celtics and +260 for Philadelphia.
Philadelphia 76ers Preview
The Philadelphia 76ers were able to sweep the Brooklyn Nets in round one, and it’s only going to get harder against the Celtics in this series.
The 76ers went 1-3 against the Celtics this season, and there’s a possibility that they could have more troubles in this series. What this series depends the most on is the availability of Joel Embiid. Embiid is listed as doubtful for game one in Boston, and if he even does end up playing, the odds of him being at 100 percent is very low. Embiid is definitely the best player on the 76ers right now, and with him possibly being out for game one, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them get off on the wrong foot against Boston. However, in the regular season, just about all the games between these two teams were close and competitive, so it feels like this series may go either way.
Philadelphia played very well in the first round of the playoffs against the Nets, but once again, this series against Boston will be much tougher. The Celtics feel like they deserve to be back in the NBA Finals, and Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics will for sure be playing like it. No matter what happens in this series, it will largely depend on if Joel Embiid can be close to 100 percent. It’s difficult to be completely fresh after a long NBA season, but it’s difficult to believe that this series will be competitive if Embiid doesn’t end up playing to start this series. Philadelphia can’t afford to make many mistakes in this series, especially if Embiid doesn’t end up playing in game one.
Boston Celtics Preview
The Celtics were able to get past the Atlanta Hawks in six games in the first round, and they will be looking to have a better performance in round two.
The key for Boston in this series is that they must take game one. Joel Embiid could be out, and even if he does play, it is likely that he won’t be at 100 percent. They have to take game one over an injured 76ers team, and then after that, it’s possible for them to put a choke hold on this series in game two. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were absolutely fantastic in round one, with both of them averaging around 27 points per game. The two losses Boston took to Atlanta in round one were mainly because of some poor defense, so we’ll see if they can be more consistent on that side of the ball in this series.
As of right now, the Celtics are the favorite to win the NBA championship. After making it to the NBA Finals last year, it looks like they have taken the next step this season. They sat atop the eastern conference for most of the NBA season, but once the Milwaukee Bucks got hot, they fell down to the second seed. But after the Bucks got eliminated in the first round by the Miami Heat, the Celtics do not have to worry about them at any point for the rest of the time they are in the playoffs. This series won’t be easy, but it mainly depends on how they start this series.
Winner Prediction: Boston Celtics in Six
This series should be one of the more competitive series in the playoffs so far.
Both of these teams are incredibly talented, but with Philadelphia’s injury concerns, Boston winning this series in six games would not be too surprising.
