Celtics No Longer NBA Finals Favorites Following Putrid Game 5

BOSTON — The Celtics have spent almost every single day of the 2022-23 NBA season among the two favorites to win the 2023 NBA Finals.

Their loss in Game 5 has seen that trust disappear.

The Celtics lost Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night at TD Garden, pushing them to the brink of elimination and forcing a do-or-die mentality for a team who has become all too familiar in that spot. The loss also tanked Boston’s NBA Finals odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, pushing them to +370 to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June.

The new favorites? The 76ers (+290) and Denver Nuggets (+290) while the Los Angeles Lakers (+370) also leapfrogged the Celtics. The full list of odds can be found below, courtesy FanDuel.

2023 NBA Finals Odds
Philadelphia 76ers (+290)
Denver Nuggets (+290)
Los Angeles Lakers (+370)
Boston Celtics (+430)
Phoenix Suns (+1100)
Golden State Warriors (+1500)
Miami Heat (+1500)
New York Knicks (+8500)

The movement could be good or bad news depending on how you view things. If you want to be negative about it, the shift is a clear sign that the books expect Philly to wrap the series up and eliminate the Celtics. If you’d like to be positive, that number is a lot more enticing than the +300 number that was floating around early in the day.

Want even more positivity? The Celtics have experience bouncing back from this exact situation.