Celtics-76ers Preview: Philly Gets Its Statement Win Tonight

by | Feb 25, 2023 | 4 Min Read

We have a great weekend of nationally televised hoops ahead, and circled on our calendars for Saturday night has the Philadelphia 76ers welcoming the Boston Celtics to renew one of the league’s most historic rivalries.

Celtics @ 76ers Game Information

The Sixers, Celtics, and Milwaukee Bucks are the top tier of the Eastern Conference’s hierarchy. Philly sits three games back of Boston, and the Sixers fit the mold of last year’s Celtics team as they’ve gone 27-7 after going .500 through the first 24 games of the season.

Boston is a very talented squad, improved upon last season’s Eastern Conference Champs. At the same time, Philly looks their most potent in years with their increased depth and arguably the most dangerous duo in the league, Joel Embiid, and James Harden.

With no official spread to refer to, I expect this game to be nearly a pick ’em. If not, it should be. It’s an excellent matchup with an electric atmosphere to back it up. The stars will be out in Embiid, Harden, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum. No way this game disappoints.

The Celtics took the first two games of the season series, but they were both played on their floor. Philadelphia is the best team in the league against the spread at home, going 21-10-1.

Coming off a resilient win last night against a solid Memphis team after being down 17 points, I expect that momentum to carry over and for the Sixers to put the league on notice. Take Philadelphia on the spread or moneyline; it won’t matter.

Celtics @ 76ers Game Props to Watch

Harden has been balling out and will continue to use his All-Star snub to fuel him. He dropped an efficient 31 points against Memphis on Thursday. He’s gone for 26+ points in four of his last six games and scored 26 and 35 against Boston in the two matchups this year. Play his OVER.

What do you think?  Leave a comment.

Embiid’s point prop has sat around 32.5 relatively reliably in recent weeks and falls just a bucket under that number tonight. We’ll play his UNDER, as he’s gone below 30 points in three straight games. Additionally, Boston has held Embiid to just 26 and 28 points in their two previous matchups and has allowed the fourth-fewest points to opposing centers. Embiid isn’t just another center; still, 30.5 is a high bar.

Tatum also sports a high point prop, and the Sixers have defended small forwards well this season, allowing the third-fewest points per game to the position. Rewind two weeks; Tatum only scored 12 points against the 76ers as he struggled to generate separation against Philly’s defense. Don’t expect 12 points again, but we like the value of his UNDER.

Brown has averaged seven boards per game this season but only combined for five rebounds in essentially 1.5 games against the Sixers (due to injury). Philly has allowed opposing shooting guards the fifth-fewest rebounds in the league, so we’ll lean to the UNDER on Brown’s rebound line.

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