Friday night in the Association will feature this iconic rivalry in the East! It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Celtics-76ers prediction and pick.
The Boston Celtics are dead even at 21-21 on the season. They have a chance to go above .500 for the first time since early in the season. They have struggled big-time but are still finding ways to win games and keeping themselves close enough to contend. The Celtics are just a few games outside of a prime playoff position, but the problem has been inconsistency. They are currently 10th in the East. If they can get a great game out of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown moving forward, then the Celtics will be in better positions to win.
The Philadelphia 76ers are fifth in the East with a 23-17 record. This is a rivalry that the 76ers want to get back on the right side of. A few years ago, Joel Embiid said it best when he said this wasn't a rivalry because Boston kept beating them. Things have changed since then and the 76ers are an improved team. If Embiid gets the best of Robert Williams III, then the 76ers will have a great chance at winning this game.
Here are the Celtics-76ers NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Celtics-76ers Odds
Boston Celtics: +3 (-110)
Philadelphia 76ers: -3 (-110)
Over: 210 (-110)
Under: 210 (-110)
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Why The Celtics Could Cover This Spread
The Celtics might be starting to figure things out as they have won three-straight games. They beat the New York Knicks and then the Indiana Pacers twice in a row to get them back to .500. Boston is just 5-5 against the Atlantic Division and so a win tonight would get them over .500 in multiple standings. The Celtics are also 5-5 in their last 10 games averaging just 105 points per game. They are winning games because of their defense giving up just 101 points per game. Philadelphia isn't any worse though, as they allow just one extra point per game. The Celtics will be without star defender Marcus Smart, so their efforts on defense will need to step up. This will be a tough game to win but if Tatum and Brown are on their game, they will be in it to the very end.
Why The 76ers Could Cover This Spread
Philadelphia is flying high right now. They have won eight of their last 10 games and they are averaging 112 points per game. That will get the job done and they beat the Celtics the last time they played. They got 41 out of Embiid and there wasn't anything the Celtics could do at the time. Embiid averages 27 points and Tatum averages 25.7 points per game. Those two are going to be the main factors but we can forget about Brown. Brown just scored 34 against the Pacers and so the 76ers must defend him as well. We all know the 76ers can defend well, but they have to be at their best if they want to cover this spread.
Final Celtics-76ers Prediction & Pick
This is not an easy game to choose. Boston is 19-20-2 ATS and the 76ers are 20-19 ATS. The 76ers are coming off a loss to the Charlotte Hornets and so I think they will have a little extra motivation going into tonight. The issue is the 76ers haven't been good at home, just 8-9 on the season. But I think that will change tonight as Boston is just 8-13 on the road. Take the 76ers to cover and win at home.
Final Celtics-76ers Prediction & Pick: 76ers -3 (-110)
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