NBA Odds: Celtics Pegged As Road Underdogs Vs. 76ers On Tuesday
The Boston Celtics have won and covered the posted spread in each of their first two meetings with the Philadelphia 76ers so far this season. Boston will be looking to keep that trend alive Tuesday night when the teams meet on the floor at Wells Fargo Center.
Boston is a 5.5-point road underdog for Tuesday night at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com, with Kyrie Irving ruled out for the contest as he nurses a strained right knee.
The two teams opened the season against each other Oct. 16 in Boston, with the Celtics cruising to a 105-87 win as 5-point betting favorites on the NBA odds. Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston that night with 23 points, with Irving held to seven points and seven assists. Joel Embiid picked up 23 points and 10 rebounds in the loss for the Sixers.
The Celtics and 76ers then met again on Christmas Day, with Boston winning 121-114 in overtime as 5-point betting favorites once again at sports betting sites. Irving had a much more productive outing in the holiday clash with 40 points, with Tatum and Marcus Morris scoring 23 points apiece. Embiid again led Philadelphia with 34 points and 16 rebounds.
It’s Philadelphia, though, that finds itself with the small edge in the standings heading into Tuesday night’s meeting, sitting one game up on Boston for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. That’s thanks to Boston’s current two-game losing streak, in which it fell 129-128 to the Los Angeles Lakers and 123-112 to the Los Angeles Clippers in two home games Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
The Celtics were clear betting favorites in both of those contests against Los Angeles teams, sitting as 9-point chalk against the Lakers and 11.5-point chalk against the Clippers. That put an end to a five-game winning streak for Boston, which had won 10 of its previous 11 games. Boston heads into Tuesday night at 35-21 straight up and 27-28-1 against the spread.
Irving had 14 points in his 14 minutes against the Clippers before leaving with his knee injury.
The Sixers are coming off a 143-120 rout of the Lakers on Sunday as 7-point home favorites, as Embiid picked up 37 points and 14 rebounds and Tobias Harris added 22 points in his second game with the team. Philadelphia is 2-0 both SU and ATS in its last two games and sits at 36-20 SU and 27-29 ATS on the season heading into Tuesday’s game against Boston.
Boston sits at +950 on the updated NBA championship odds, with Philadelphia set at +1200.
