The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics will open the 2022-23 NBA season with a Tuesday night matchup at the Garden in Boston. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes a 76ers-Celtics prediction and pick, laid out below.
The Philadelphia 76ers are coming off an impressive 51-31 record in 2021-22, losing in six games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The core of that team is back with Joel Embiid and James Harden returning. Doc Rivers is one of the best and most respected coaches in the league.
Boston also finished their regular season 51-31, going all the way to the NBA Finals before losing in six games to Golden State. An interesting offseason surrounding their now-suspended head coach casts a cloud over a talented roster. There is still tons of optimism around this team.
Here are the 76ers-Celtics NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: 76ers-Celtics Odds
Philadelphia 76ers: +3 (-110)
Boston Celtics: -3 (-110)
Over: 216 (-110)
Under: 216 (-110)
Why The 76ers Could Cover The Spread
As mentioned above, Joel Embiid and James Harden still suit up for Philadelphia. Embiid put up a career-high 30.4 points per game while pulling down 11.7 rebounds per game last season. Most importantly, Embiid played in 68 games, which was a career-high. James Harden's time in Brooklyn was not the best for either party, and he was part of a midseason shakeup that sent Ben Simmons to Brooklyn. In his 21 games with Philadelphia, Harden averaged 21 points per game on 40 percent shooting. The days of Harden being a sharpshooter may be done, but when he gets hot, the points will come in bunches. Tobias Harris has put up some of his best numbers across parts of four seasons in Philadelphia.
Last year, Harris averaged 17.2 points per game, shooting an efficient 48.2 percent. Point guard Tyrese Maxey took a huge step forward in his second season, averaging 17.5 points per game and 4.3 assists per game. Philadelphia averaged 109.9 points per game while surrendering 107.3 points per game last season. Philadelphia's defense ranked ninth in the league in opponent scoring.
Why The Celtics Could Cover The Spread
Boston's tumultuous offseason truly overshadowed the strong roster assembled here by Brad Stevens and company. A key offseason addition was Blake Griffin, who spent the last year and a half playing a small role for Brooklyn. Griffin likely won't play a huge role offensively, but he is still a capable rebounder. In his last extended time as a starter, Griffin averaged 12.3 points and 5.2 rebounds for Detroit in 2020-21.
Robert Williams was a few more rebounds away from averaging a double-double, and should combine with Griffin to form a strong duo down low. However, Williams is likely out for the first half of the season as he recovers from knee surgery. Expect him at the start of the 2023 calendar year.
Marcus Smart is coming off a career-best 5.9 assists per game, while scoring 12.1 points per game. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum survived the offseason trade rumors and now will return to Boston with a championship in sight. Brown averaged 23.6 points per game while Tatum provided 26.9 points per game. The duo did a lot more than just score, as both averaged better than six rebounds per game. Boston averaged 111.8 points per game while allowing just 104.5 points per game, which was the lowest mark in the league. With Griffin and Malcolm Brogdon now in town, the defense likely received a boost.
Final 76ers-Celtics Prediction & Pick
Both teams can score, but I think Harden will get hot in this one.
Final 76ers-Celtics Prediction & Pick: Philadelphia +3 (-110), over 216 (-110)
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