Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/03/2023

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Venue:  TD Garden, Boston, MA

Where to Watch:  TNT

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  76ers +9, Celtics -9; Over/Under:  218.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  76ers +9.5, Celtics -9.5; Over/Under:  218 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  76ers +9.5, Celtics -9.5; Over/Under:  218.5 points

Philadelphia 76ers:  54-28 (2nd place, Atlantic Division)

Boston Celtics:  57-25 (1st place, Atlantic Division)

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Philadelphia 76ers:  8-2 last 10

Boston Celtics:  7-3 last 10

The 76ers finished the regular season with a 54-28 record overall and they were 25-16 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 7 game winning streak with wins coming against the Atlanta Hawks, the Brooklyn Nets 5 games in a row, and the Boston Celtics in their last game. James Harden led the team in points in that game with 45 while Tyrese Maxey was next on the team with 26 points. James Harden led the team in assists in that game with 6 while Paul Reed led the team in rebounds with 13. They were 50.6% from the field, 44.7% from 3-point range, and 100% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 115.2 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 110.9 PPG against them. The 76ers have an ATS record of 51-34-2 this season and their O/U record is 46-39-2.

The Celtics finished the regular season with a 57-25 record overall and they were 32-9 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off of a loss against the Philadelphia 76ers in their last game. Jayson Tatum led the team in points in that game with 39 while Jaylen Brown was next on the team with 23 points. Marcus Smart led the team in assists in that game with 7 while Jayson Tatum led the team in rebounds with 11. They were 58.7% from the field, 38.5% from 3-point range, and 94.4% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 117.9 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 111.4 PPG against them. The Celtics have an ATS record of 50-39 this season and their O/U record is 47-40-2.

The current betting odds have the 76ers listed as a 9 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 2 of a 7-game series between the 2nd seeded Celtics and the 3rd seeded 76ers for the 2nd round of the playoffs in the NBA Eastern Conference. The 76ers are entering this game with a 1-0 series lead after pulling off a huge upset in game 1 in Boston as a double digit road underdog by the time the line closed. They won game 1 of this series without Embiid as Harden showed up in a big way to carry the team to a very important road win which now flips the home advantage in this series. The Celtics started off the playoffs so well in their first 2 games against the Hawks but ever since game 3 of that series they have been slipping and even when they win games, they aren't blowing teams out of the water. They struggled to pull away at home against a 76ers team missing their best player in Joel Embiid and even when they were able to pull away by double digits in the game, they weren't able to hang onto their lead very long. The 76ers have shown they can compete with the Celtics even without their best player and the 76ers will bring the same intensity in this game led by James Harden. The 76ers may not win this game as an underdog again but getting blown out by double digits seems very unlikely for the way they have been playing as a team lately. The best way to place a bet here is on the 76ers to cover the spread in this game.

76ers Celtics Prediction:  Our NBA Pick for Wednesday, May 3, 2023 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Celtics 110 76ers 107.

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Philadelphia 76ers: 32-19 ATS after a game where they covered the spread. 17-9 ATS when the total is 210 to 219.5. 18-9 OVER off a road win. 16-9 OVER when the total is 210 to 219.5.

Boston Celtics: 6-17 ATS revenging a loss vs opponent. 1-8 ATS when playing with double revenge - 2 straight losses vs. opponent. 8-0 OVER after 5 straight games where they made 47% of their shots or better. 28-17 OVER as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points.

Philadelphia 76ers:  J. Embiid (C) Ques Wed - Knee.

Boston Celtics:  D. Gallinari (SF) out for season - Knee.

“That’s the difference between this year’s team and last year’s team. We have a bunch of street fighters. If we could get to the fourth quarter, we were going to win the game. That’s how we felt.” - Doc Rivers after his team’s win against the Celtics in their game on Monday, game 1 of this series.

“They hit big shots and I think they were just in a rhythm throughout the whole game.” - Jayson Tatum after their loss against the 76ers in their game on Monday, game 1 of this series.

PG James Harden

SG Tyrese Maxey

SF Tobias Harris 

PF P.J. Tucker

C Joel Embiid

PG Marcus Smart

SG Derrick White

SF Jaylen Brown

PF Jayson Tatum

C Al Horford

PPG: J. Embiid (33.1)

APG: J. Harden (10.7)

Reb/G: J. Embiid (10.2)

PPG: J. Tatum (30.1)

APG: M. Smart (6.3)

Reb/G: J. Tatum (8.8)

Coaches:

Philadelphia 76ers: Doc Rivers (3rd season)

Boston Celtics: Joe Mazzulla (1st season)