Alex Hunter breaks down his preview, prediction and pick for Thursday’s Game 6 between the Celtics and the 76ers.
The Celtics and 76ers continue their first round series with Game 6 in Philadelphia on Thursday. The Celtics lead this series 3-2 and can advance to the semifinals with a win. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Boston is favored by 6.5 points and this game carries a total of 212.5 points.
Let’s dive into my preview and pick for this matchup.
The Celtics cruised to an easy 128-96 win in Game 4 in Philadelphia on Sunday and set themselves up for a potential series ending Game 5 in Boston on Tuesday. Four of the Celtics’ five playoff series wins over the last three years have been clinched with a Game 5 win in Boston and it looked like history was about to repeat itself, as the Celtics were an 11.5-point favorite for Game 5. Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to plan, in a big way.
The 76ers went into Boston and kept their season alive with a 113-97 triumph. Philadelphia erased a 13-point lead in the third quarter and then outscored the Celtics 28-11 in the fourth quarter. Joel Embiid was magnificent, posting 33 points, eight assists, and four rebounds while shooting 52.2% from the field. Tyrese Maxey and Paul George also scored 25 and 16 points, respectively, while Quentin Grimes was huge off the bench with 18 points.
The 76ers’ defense was putrid in Embiid’s return in Game 4, but he and Philadelphia as a whole completely flipped the script on that side of the ball in Game 5, holding the Celtics to 40.4% shooting and 28.2% from beyond the arc. The 76ers’ defense was especially strong to finish this game, as the Celtics’ 11-point fourth quarter is this elite offense’s lowest scoring quarter of the season.
In the loss for Boston, Jayson Tatum finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds, and Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, but no other player added more than 12 points. Derrick White’s struggles continued, as the guard scored just six points on 2-of-8 shooting.
This was a very impressive road win for Philadelphia and this group deserves a ton of credit, but the Celtics did appear to be checked out and moved on to Game 6 with about five minutes remaining in this tilt. Boston letting its guard down following the 32-point rout in Game 4 is on brand for this team.
The Celtics have lost five straight playoff games when coming off a win of 18 points or more. For such a talented and well coached team, it’s a very puzzling trend. However, another clear trend for Boston is that this club knows how to bounce back after a loss.
This season, the Celtics are a league-best 21-6 following a defeat with an 11.5-point margin of victory. In the postseason over the last three years, Boston is 6-1 after a loss and three of these victories have been by at least 20 points. Meanwhile, the 76ers are just 21-26 when coming off a win this season and their victory in Game 5 makes Philadelphia just 12-11 when all three of Embiid, Maxey and George are active this season.
So, will Embiid continue to play like his former MVP self tonight and force a Game 7? Or, will the Celtics put the Game 5 loss behind them and get back on track with a win to advance? That we will find out tonight in Philadelphia for this anticipated Game 6.
The 76ers were impressive in Game 5 and the Celtics folding late was concerning, but Boston is still the much better team and this experienced group knows how to regroup after a loss.
The Celtics should go into Philadelphia tonight and end this series, and they should cover in the process. Boston is 18-9 ATS after a loss this season and the team is 6-2 ATS after a loss in the playoffs the last three years.
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