76ers vs. Celtics Game 1 Preview, Odds, Predictions, Picks (May 1)

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics open the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night. The two franchises had quite a rivalry throughout history, and some of their matchups are historic. As always, when two Atlantic division teams meet, the tension is high, and there’s no reason to be different in this case. The Sixers swept the Nets in the first round and had a few days to rest, unlike the Cs, who battled with the Hawks for six tough games.

Here are more NBA playoff Previews:

• Heat vs. Knicks Game 1
• Grizzlies vs. Lakers Game 6

Preview

Philadelphia 76ers (+200) swept the Nets in four games, presenting commanding basketball with three players averaging 20 or more points throughout that series. Tyrese Maxey dropped 21.8 buckets, Tobias Harris 20.3, and Joel Embiid 20, with the note that the Process missed one game due to an injury, and that’s why those several days of resting were important for Philly.

Embiid’s behavior will be closely monitored because he got away with some pretty controversial conduct against the Nets, with the officials looking the other way and not sanctioning the big fella. 

Philly had 48.5 boards in the series vs. the Nets, but that’s against the team which didn’t have a proper force under the rim. A very good thing was that they held the rivals under 100 points in three of four games. We haven’t used to seeing the Sixers as a tough defensive-minded unit, but that quality appeared against the Nets. 

Boston Celtics (-235) beat the Hawks in Atlanta in Game 6, 128-120, showing impressive offensive performance. The Cs accepted Atlanta’s fast pace and high intensity and beat them with their own medicine. It all came down to the last 12 minutes, with them outscoring the rivals 30-20.

Jaylen Brown had another excellent night, with 32 points, while Tatum recovered following a disastrous performance in Game 5, dropping 30 buckets on the Hawks’ defense and adding 14 boards with seven assists. The third leader, Marcus Smart, had 22 points, so we can say that the Cs had all of their stars in the best possible shape.

Malcolm Brogdon was the force off the bench with 17 buckets. He delivers 12.6 points throughout the payoffs, with four 4 boards and 4.4 assists, which is an extremely good contribution for 25 minutes on the floor.

Head to Head Games

Boston won three of four regular-season meetings, but the Sixers won the last one. The first two games were at the TD Garden, 126-117 in October and 106-99 in early February. Boston was better than Philly at the Wells Fargo Center, 110-107 in late February, before losing at the same place on April 4, 103-101. 

Predictions

The Celtics are ruthless at home, and despite the Sixers’ confident performance against the Nets in the first round, we don’t believe they can handle the rivals at the TD Garden. Boston is flexible on both ends of the court, which can’t be said for the guests from the City of Brotherly Love. Also, the Cs’ defense under the rim is one of the toughest in the league, and Embiid won’t have open space like against Brooklyn, which will have a huge impact on the overall situation. That’s why we pick the Celtics. 

Pick: Boston Celtics win -235