Philadelphia 76ers (54-28) at Boston Celtics (57-25)
Game Info: Sunday, May 14, 2023 at 3:30 p.m. EST (TD Garden)
Betting Odds: Celtics (-6.5) / Over/Under (201)
Pick: 76ers (+6.5)
Let's reel in Mother's Day by focusing our attention on a deciding Game 7 between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics, where either team will be looking to advance to face off with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Philadelphia blew the perfect opportunity that they set up for themselves in Game 6 after falling short on their home floor by a score of 95-86. After coming out of the half on fire on offense, beating the Celtics 30-21 in the 3rd Quarter, they tightened up in the last frame and only were able to muster a mere 13 points in the 4th Quarter. If the 76ers are to head on the road and do the unthinkable by beating the Celtics 3 times away from home in 1 series, they are surely going to have to loosen up a bit down the stretch. That is only going to happen if they put the ball in their best players hands when it matters. In Game 6, as Joel Embiid noted in his postgame interview, it felt as though he barely touched the ball throughout the stretch where the 76ers missed shot after shot while the Celtics furthered their lead every possesion down the floor. They must keep it simple at times in Game 7... get Embiid the ball as much as possible.
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Boston proved how quality of a team they truly are after falling short in Game 5 and having to extend the series on the road in Game 6. After battling back and forth for 3 quarters, they displayed their Championship mentality by going on a 19-11 run to close the game out to ensure that they'd be playing at least 1 more game inside of TD Garden. Furthermore, after shooting atrociously from the field for the first 36 minutes or so, their superstar forward, Jayson Tatum, was able to get in his groove when the Celtics needed it. Although by taking a glimpse at the box score, we can see that he only ended up scoring 19 points on 5-21 shooting from the field, he drained dagger after dagger into the 76ers hearts in the 4th Quarter to push them away. Can he build on his final 12 in Philadelphia to propel his squad to another ECF?
Betting trends to consider in this matchup:
- Philadelphia is 6-3-1 ATS in Playoff games
- The 76ers are 31-19-2 ATS when playing on equal rest as their opponent
- The over has hit in 8 of 12 Celtics Playoff games
Game 7's always seem to be more difficult than the line suggests in this one. The past few home games, the Celtics were favored by 9-10, but it has fallen to a 6-6.5 range depending on the Sportsbook you are looking at because of it being a Game 7 and the fact that the 76ers have played so well on the road. In saying this, I expect this one to be a close one down to the wire and will side with the points with Philadelphia here as I see them making enough plays down the stretch to cover for us!
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