Game 3 of the Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers series will tip off tonight with the series tied at one win apiece. The Celtics blew out the Sixers in a 123-91 win in Game 1. But the Sixers showed some resiliency by bouncing back for a 111-97 win in the second matchup as the series returns to Philadelphia tonight. Joel Embiid also has seen his status upgraded to doubtful as he is now 15 days removed from his emergency appendix surgery.

You can check out the full preview and prediction for the series on DraftKings Network here.

Looking at the odds for Game 3, the Celtics enter as a 7.5-point favorite and hold -305 odds of winning outright on DraftKings Sportsbook. The 76ers hold +245 odds of winning outright with the game total set at 215.5.

76ers vs. Celtics preview

It has been a strange season for the 76ers, as they failed to ever get a sample size of the team as designed. Joel Embiid battled injuries, Paul George received a 25-game suspension, and even Tyrese Maxey missed some time. Ultimately, they finished 45-37 across the regular season, which placed them in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, and they officially secured their playoff spot with a victory over the Orlando Magic in the Play-In Tournament. Philadelphia went 44-39 against the spread, and the game total finished 40-43 to the over/under across the regular season and play-in matchup.

Embiid’s injury status will be one to monitor as the day progresses. For what it is worth, he has been listed as doubtful four times in his playoff career and played in three of these games. But given the nature of the appendix issue, his availability falls just about exclusively on the decision from the medical staff. The former MVP is 15 days removed from undergoing his appendectomy surgery, and this is not a matter of putting on a brace or playing through pain.

Tyrese Maxey has stepped up as the leader of the franchise as the aging stars battled their availability issues. Maxey earned his second career All-Star appearance this season with averages of 28.3 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds while leading the NBA in minutes. V.J Edgecombe has shown to be an ideal backcourt mate, adding 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists across his rookie season. Paul George had his season derailed by a 25-game suspension, but the nine-time All-Star played the best basketball of his Sixers tenure since returning. He posted averages of 21.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.2 steals, and shot 41.5% from beyond the three-point arc across the final 10-game stretch. Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond, Adem Bona, and Quentin Grimes also play key roles in the rotation.

Philadelphia averaged 115.9 points per game across the regular season, which ranks 14th in the NBA. The Sixers also rank 17th in offensive rating, 23rd in field goal percentage, and 23rd in three-point percentage. Defensively, opponents are scoring 116.1 points per game against the 76ers, which ranks 19th in the league. Nick Nurse’s squad also ranks 16th in defensive rating, 12th in opponent field goal percentage, and 10th in opponent three-point percentage.

Despite entering the season with the expectations that this would be a gap season, the Boston Celtics have looked like a title threat from start to finish this season. Jaylen Brown and company more than kept the team afloat, allowing Jayson Tatum to return to play meaningful basketball. Boston finished the regular season with a 56-26 overall record. The C’s went 49-33 against the spread, and the game total remained under in an NBA-leading 52 games this season.

Jaylen Brown deserves a ton of credit for the team’s success, producing a career-best season with averages of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. Tatum has not quite looked like the best version of himself just yet, shooting just 41.1% from the floor and 32.9% on three-point attempts, but is averaging 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists across his first 16 games played. Derrick White serves as the glue of the team, adding 16.5 points, 5.4 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game. Payton Pritchard, Neemias Queta, Sam Hauser, and Jordan Walsh each showed some encouraging development, and the team traded to bring in Nikola Vucevic at the deadline.

Joe Mazzulla’s group is scoring 114.9 points per game this season, which ranks 19th in the NBA. The Celtics also rank second in offensive rating, 16th in field goal percentage, and eighth in three-point percentage while launching the fourth-most perimeter attempts per game. Defensively, Boston is holding teams to 107.2 points per game, which is the fewest points in the league. They also rank fourth in defensive rating, second in opponent field goal percentage, and 16th in opponent three-point percentage.

Games 1 & 2 Takeaways

The Celtics completely outclassed the 76ers in the opening matchup. Boston produced a 123-91 win in which they led for 99% of the game and extended the lead to as many as 35. Philadelphia shot just 39% from the field, 17% on three-point attempts, gave up 22 points off turnovers, and no player scored more than 21 points. Boston covered the 12.5-point spread, and the game total went narrowly over the 213.5 line.

In Game 2, it was a completely different story. The Sixers approached the game with the necessary intensity that the playoff atmosphere requires. Both sides extended double-digit leads, but the 76ers led for 66% of the matchup, shot 49% on three-point attempts, and secured a 111-97 win. Rookie V.J. Edgecombe exploded for a team-high 30 points and, outside of the 55 combined points from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, no Celtics player cracked double figures. Philadelphia won outright on the +585 moneyline, and the game total remained under the 216.5 total.

76ers vs. Celtics Game 3 prediction, pick

The saying goes that an NBA playoff series doesn’t truly begin until one team wins on the road. Well, we have a series in the 2 vs. 7 seed matchup in the Eastern Conference as the Celtics will now travel to Philadelphia to attempt to do the same.

Shooting variance has told the story in this series thus far. The Celtics shot 36% on 44 attempts in the series opener while holding the 76ers to 17% perimeter shooting on just 23 long-range shots. This resulted in a blowout Celtics win. In Game 2, the 76ers shot 49% from deep on 39 long-range shots, while the Celtics connected on 26% of their perimeter shot attempts, paving the way to the Sixers evening the series.

Joel Embiid’s potential availability changes the equation a good bit. It is also worth noting that the 76ers’ biggest pathway to success in this series has been playing at an up-tempo pace and playing in transition. The Celtics played at the slowest pace in the NBA across the regular season, and prefer to keep it a controlled half court setting. Embiid’s midrange and post-oriented style of play feeds into this in favor of the Celtics’ desired pace, but he will be a nightmare matchup for the Celtics’ vulnerable front court rotation. It is also worth noting Embiid likely has not done much physically since being sidelined with the appendix issue, so there are fair questions about how he will look if he does return to the floor.

With or without Embiid, I am backing the game total to remain under the 215.5 line tonight. Boston always makes it a priority to slow the pace and play in a half-court setting. This will especially be the case as they are on the road with a raucous Philadelphia fan base in the stands. The Celtics are the better team, but if the Sixers control the tempo and play at a quick pace, there is a chance Philadelphia can win outright again.

The game total remained under in the Celtics’ games more than any other team in the NBA across the regular season. The point total has finished at 214 and 208 across the first two games, despite the Sixers shooting their third-best three-point percentage in any game this season in Game 2. Expect a full playoff atmosphere tonight in which you feel the weight of every made basket. Offensive production has slipped notably compared to the regular season, as the defensive intensity has increased. Of the 19 playoff games that have occurred thus far, the game total has remained under in 15 of these matchups. Expect the Game 3 matchup between the Celtics and Sixers to stick to this trend and for the 215.5 game total to be too ambitious.

Best Bet: Game Total Under 215.5 (-110)