- Jayson Tatum and the Celtics (5-1) are 1.5-point road favorites over Joel Embiid’s 76ers (5-1)
- Tatum was named NBA Player of the Week after averaging 31.7 points and 9.7 rebounds
- Wednesday night’s game tips off from Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA at 7:00pm ET
Boston dropped its first game of the season to Minnesota on Monday night while Philadelphia has reeled off five-straight wins following its opening night loss to Milwaukee. The Sixers will put their perfect home record on the line on Wednesday against a Celtics team that knocked them out of last year’s playoffs.
Who will draw first blood between these Atlantic Division rivals? Before we look at the odds for the game and make our picks, be sure to check out the 2023-24 NBA MVP Betting Odds and our guide to betting on NBA basketball.
76ers vs Celtics
Embiid explosion
Philadelphia is a different team than the one that lost to the Celtics in last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals. While 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid remains, the franchise replaced Doc Rivers with former Raptors coach Nick Nurse. They also jettisoned James Harden to the Clippers on Halloween for a bevy of picks and role players.
Embiid scored 48 points in Monday’s 146-128 victory over the Wizards. His 29-point third-quarter explosion was the highest-scoring quarter in Sixers history. Tyrese Maxey has also helped fill Harden’s playmaking void, averaging 25.5 points and 7.3 assists through six games.
Joel Embiid finished the 3rd quarter vs the Wizards with 29 points on 10-10 shooting.
That is the most points in a quarter in 76ers history. pic.twitter.com/jHsBBIpKoy
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 7, 2023
New look Celtics
Jayson Tatum is averaging 30.5 points and 8.8 rebounds while his running mate Jaylen Brown has per game marks of 23.2 points and 6.2 rebounds. Boston added around their big two this offseason, trading for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holliday in separate deals.
Porzingis has provided nice secondary scoring early in the season with 19.5 points per game. Holliday has also teamed with Derrick White to form one of the NBA scrappiest backcourts. White should be back in the lineup on Wednesday after missing two games following the birth of his second child.
Philadelphia vs Boston
Philadelphia is 1.5-point home underdog on Wednesday with the over/under set at 226 points. Nick Nurse’s team is a perfect 6-0 against the spread this season and is unbeaten at home with a 4-0 record. The Sixers had a 27-18-1 ATS mark at Wells Fargo Center in 2022-23, which was the fourth-best home cover rate (60%) in the NBA.
Boston is 1-1-2 ATS away from home this year and 3-1 straight up. Joe Mazzulla’s squad had the best road record (31-19) in the league last season, covering the spread in 54% of their games.
Jayson Tatum is the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
During a 3-0 stretch, he averaged 31.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG, and 2.7 APG while shooting 58.9 FG%, 54.2 3P%, and 94.1 FT%. pic.twitter.com/uHzMyBIc4i
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) November 6, 2023
Best Bet
Basketball fans are in for a treat as two of the Eastern Conference’s best teams square off on Wednesday night. The new-look Sixers will want to send their rivals a message on their home floor while the Celtics should be playing with added urgency after dropping their first game of the season.
We’ll take Boston to cover (-1.5) on the road while handing Philly its first loss in six games, and the UNDER 226.
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