The Boston Celtics are now up 2-0 in their Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Philadelphia 76ers after a 108-103 win in Game 2 Thursday. Will the Sixers avoid a 3-0 playoff ditch? Or will the Celtics move a win away from advancing to the conference finals?
Register here to make your pick.
Betting Preview for Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers NBA Eastern Conference Round 2 Game 3 on May 5, 2018
Where: Wells Fargo Center, PA
When: Saturday, May 5, 5:00pm EST
Line: Boston Celtics (point spread) vs Philadelphia 76ers (point spread) – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: TNT
Betting on the Boston Celtics (+9.5)
The Celtics just keep on winning and Terry Rozier just keeps on making his star shine brighter in these playoffs. Rozier scored 20 points and dished out nine assists in Game 2, while rookie Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 21 points. Marcus Smart put up 19 points and played superb defense on the other end of the floor. The key for Boston in Game 2 was that it was able to take away Simmons’ impact. Simmons only had a point the entire game, so the Celtics essentially shaved plenty of points from Philly. Boston’s aggressiveness also paid off, as the Celtics had 10 more trips to the foul line than Philadelphia. The C’s need the same approach in Game 3 in order to make Philly’s defense uncomfortable and keep the pressure on Embiid defensively. Rozier averages 19.1 points this postseason, the best among all Celtics.
Boston is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games in Philly.
Betting on the Philadelphia 76ers (-9.5)
For the first time in the playoffs, the young Sixers are feeling the pressure. Down 2-0 in the series, they will look to recover and cut the series deficit down in half this Saturday at Wells Fargo Center, where they are 9-1 SU and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games there. As mentioned earlier, Ben Simmons was plain horrible on offense in Game 2 with only a point and five turnovers. As much as Simmons prefer setting up the table for his teammates, he should be able to use his size to score against the Celtics smaller guards. Embiid, meanwhile, has been a consistent factor for the Sixers. The big man scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds on Thursday. In Game 1, he had 31 points and 13 boards. With the series now in Philly, the Sixers should also get more favorable calls from the refs, so they need to take advantage of those additional foul calls by converting on their free throws.
Writer’s Prediction
Philadelphia wins, 107-100.
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