76ers at Celtics: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics (-5.5, 170)
THE STORY: A berth in the Eastern Conference finals is on the line when the Boston Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers in Saturday’s Game 7 of the second-round series. The longtime rivals are meeting in a Game 7 for the first time since 1982 when the 76ers prevailed in Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. The home team has won 79.6 percent of the 108 Game 7s in NBA history.
ABOUT THE 76ERS: Philadelphia forced a seventh game with a gutty 82-75 home victory on Wednesday. Point guard Jrue Holiday had his highest-scoring game of the series with 20 points, and forward Elton Brand had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his second consecutive solid outing. Brand scored 19 points in Game 5. Sixers reserves Lou Williams (10.8 average) and Thaddeus Young (8.5) have had minimal effect in the series. Coach Doug Collins is happy Philadelphia’s season has a chance to continue, but isn’t satisfied. “I want more,” Collins said. “We’re going to get greedy and we want more. We’ve fought, we’ve worked, and we’ve gone through a lot as a team.”
ABOUT THE CELTICS: Veteran post Kevin Garnett has been Boston’s best player in the series and the Celtics are hoping he’ll be fresh after playing 40-plus minutes in two of the past three games. Garnett is averaging 20 points and 10.7 rebounds in the series and coach Doc Rivers is mindful that he needs Garnett to be strong in the final minutes. “We know he has to get rest,” Rivers said. “To have to take him out in the fourth quarter is hard, but we have no choice. He’s doing everything for us. But at the end of the day, he can’t play 48 minutes.” Point guard Rajon Rondo had a subpar Game 6 with six assists and four turnovers after averaging 14.6 assists over the first five games.
TRENDS:
*Home team is 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings.
*Celtics are 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games following a SU loss.
*76ers are 9-4 ATS in the last 13 meetings.
*Over is 6-2 in the last eight meetings.
*Favorite is 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Celtics guard Avery Bradley (shoulder) has been shut down for the playoffs and veteran Ray Allen, shooting 33 percent over the last three games, will start.
2. Philadelphia’s most-recent Game 7 was in 2001 when Allen Iverson scored 44 points against the Milwaukee Bucks to move the 76ers into the NBA Finals.
3. Boston forward Paul Pierce has averaged 22 points over the last four games after scoring just 21 total points in the first two contests.
PHILADELPHIA (42 - 36) at BOSTON (46 - 32)
Top Trends for this game.
PHILADELPHIA is 11-20 ATS (-11.0 Units) after allowing 85 points or less this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 17-27 ATS (-12.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 90-74 ATS (+8.6 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 83-105 ATS (-32.5 Units) as a favorite over the last 3 seasons.
BOSTON is 151-192 ATS (-60.2 Units) in home games revenging a loss vs opponent since 1996.
BOSTON is 44-73 ATS (-36.3 Units) in home games versus good defensive teams - allowing <=91 points/game since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
PHILADELPHIA is 11-6 against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 10-7 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
8 of 16 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
PHILADELPHIA vs. BOSTON
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Philadelphia's last 8 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Boston's last 8 games when playing Philadelphia
Boston is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games when playing Philadelphia
Philadelphia at Boston
Philadelphia: 11-20 ATS after allowing 85 points or less
Boston: 10-1 ATS off a division loss
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
By Sportspic.com
Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
For the sixth time in the storied rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, the clubs will meet in a Game 7 of a playoff series. The Miami Heat await the winner in the Eastern Conference Finals starting Monday.
Since Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined the Celtics, the team seems to lack a killer instinct in elimination games that aren’t at home. And that was on display big time in Wednesday’s 82-75 defeat in Philadelphia that dropped Boston to 2-11 in potential road close out games in the past five seasons. Two nights after the Celtics shot 52.2 percent from the floor and routed Philly, Boston shot just 33.3 percent overall in Game 6.
Rajon Rondo had his worst game of the series by far on Wednesday. Heading into that game, Rondo had 72 points and 73 assists against the Sixers. But in Game 6, he had just nine points on 4-for-14 shooting, six assists and four turnovers. Rondo had had at least 13 assists in each of his previous five playoff games, only the second player in NBA history to accomplish that feat in the playoffs.
The Celtics played Game 6 again without starting shooting guard Avery Bradley, and he’s been ruled out of the playoffs with a shoulder injury. Allen got the start again, but he’s showing his age. Allen is battling a very bad ankle and was only 4-for-11 (including 1-for-5 from three) from the floor Wednesday for nine quiet points.
While the Sixers were terrific defensively in Game 6, they weren’t very good on offense, either. Jrue Holliday led four players in double figures with 20 points, but Philly was 1-for-9 from 3-point range and hit just 60.7 percent of its 28 free-throw attempts. Where the Sixers were good was in outscoring Boston 42-16 in the paint.
The Celtics are 4-0 in these playoffs following a loss. Boston has covered eight of its past 11 after a loss.
Game 7, Celtics vs. 76ers
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com
Boston and Philadelphia will meet Saturday night in a decisive Game 7 battle, where the winner will face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Tip-off is slated for 8:05 p.m. ET and ABC will provide national coverage of the series finale.
The 76ers kept their playoff hopes alive on Wednesday with an 82-75 victory over the Celtics in Game 6 at home. Philadelphia couldn’t find its offense early and trailed 36-33 at the break but it almost eclipsed the first-half numbers with a 27-point third quarter. Unfortunately for Boston, it couldn’t buy a shot for the game (33%) and it turned the ball over 17 times. Despite those ugly numbers, the Celtics were in the game at the end and you could argue that this series could’ve been over if there was an extra two minutes left on the clock.
Boston received decent efforts from Paul Pierce (24 points) and Kevin Garnett (20 points, 11 rebounds), but its best player, Rajon Rondo, had his worst game of the series (nine points, six assists). Plus, Ray Allen hasn’t had a great series at all, shooting 26 percent (7-of-27) from 3-point land.
Philadelphia had five players in double figures, led by Jrue Holiday’s 20 points and six assists. Gamblers might want to check out the player props tonight on the 76ers and look at the ‘under’ for each individual. While the scoring is balanced, it’s rare for anybody on this team to notch elite numbers.
To no surprise, Boston has been installed as a favorite for Game 7 at TD Garden. The number opened at 5 1/2-points and it’s held steady the last two days.
The advantage definitely leans to Boston at home, where they’ve went 13-1 in the second-half of the season and 5-1 in the playoffs, the one loss coming to Game 2 against the 76ers (81-82). Ironically, the other home loss during this span was by one point as well, which came on Apr. 4 against the top seed in the playoffs, San Antonio (86-87).
Against the spread at home, Boston is just 2-4 in the playoffs. While those numbers aren’t profitable, Doc Rivers’ squad is 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS off a loss in the postseason.
Knowing that Boston is 18-2 in its last 20 at home and it hasn’t been a great investment against the point-spread in the playoffs, the money-line could be the look here. The Celtics are listed as high as minus-260 (Bet $260 to win $100) favorites. If you don’t want to risk the money, you could parlay Boston with the ‘over’ or ‘under’ and still get back a return close to 3/2 odds (Bet $100 to win $150). Or you could look at a teaser, which I don’t play in basketball. Most sports books will let you use other NBA and WNBA games as extra legs.
Philadelphia has gone 2-4 SU and 3-3 ATS on the road in the playoffs and three of the four losses have come by eight points or more. The 76ers don’t have as much experience as Boston and the Game 7 atmosphere could get to a team that only has one player, Elton Brand, older than 30. Coach Doug Collins is still confident in his group and they’re not happy just to be here.
"I want more," Collins said. "We're going to get greedy. We've fought, we've worked, we've gone through a lot as a team and we've grown."
The 76ers have not been to a Game 7 since 2001, when Allen Iverson and company beat Milwaukee for a spot in the NBA Finals.
Meanwhile, the Celtics have played in an NBA-record 27 Game 7s and won 20 of those affairs, which includes a 17-4 record in Boston.
Since the franchise assembled “The Big Three” of Pierce, Garnett and Allen in 2007, the team has gone 3-2 in Game 7’s and that includes a blowout loss at home to Orlando (101-82) in the 2009 conference semifinals. To be fair, Garnett was inactive during that postseason and the Magic drilled 13 bombs from 3-point land
If there is an X-Factor for Boston, it’s Pierce. He’s played in six Game 7’s with the Celtics and gone 3-3. In the three wins, he’s averaged 27.7 points per game but in the losses, he’s posted 17.7 PPG. Sportsbook.ag has plenty of Player Props posted tonight, including numbers for Pierce.
The ‘over’ has gone 4-2 in the first six games yet tonight’s total opened at 171 and the number has dropped a half-point (170.5) at most shops. Make a note that every game Boston has won in this series, the ‘over’ has also cashed. If you’re tentative to lay the points, then perhaps check out the team total on the Celtics. The number on Boston is hovering around 88 points while the 76ers are listed in the 82-point range.
The Celtics will be without guard Avery Bradley (shoulder) for Game 7. The rookie from Texas missed the last two games and is done for the season after having surgery this week.
Game 7 Quick Facts
The NBA has had 108 Game 7’s in playoff history
The home team is 86-22 (79.6%) in those games
Seven of the last 10 Game 7 outcomes have been decided by double digits
Five of the last six road winners in Game 7 were from the Western Conference