The Boston Celtics finally were able to close out the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 after failing to oust them in Game 5 at home. They had to push back a Janet Jackson concert with their mistake.
This win sets up a first-round series vs the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers were able to sweep the Nets, who we learned fairly quickly that they didn’t belong. Despite the Sixers being with a hobbled Joel Embiid, they were able to vanquish the lowly Nets.
The Celtics are a sizeable favorite to win this series (-290). That would lead us to believe that Joel Embiid is going to be limited in his time or availability. The Likely MVP is hurt again for what feels like the 5th postseason in a row.
The season series didn’t go the way that the Sixers would have wanted. The Celtics won 3 of the 4 contests during the regular season. The Celtics have also won the last five playoff series vs the Sixers. The last being in the 2020 postseason.
The simplest way to know how a game went for the Celtics this season has been to look at their 3-point numbers.
When the Celtics hit at least 40% of their 3s, their record was 34-2 across the regular season and playoffs. When they were below that mark, it was 27-24.
Total | Boston Celtics | Philadelphia 76ers | |
---|---|---|---|
Total Matches | 31 | 19 | 12 |
NBA Regular Season | 19 | 9 | 10 |
NBA Summer League | 3 | 3 | 0 |
NBA NBA Preseason | 1 | 0 | 1 |
NBA Playoffs | 8 | 7 | 1 |
Given Boston averaged 10 more 3-point attempts than Philadelphia during the regular season, the Celtics are already likely to have an edge in perimeter scoring in this series. So if Boston can have a few hot-shooting nights, it will make for an uphill battle for Philadelphia
The four games against Brooklyn, Harden shot just 9-for-34 on 2-point shots. Remove his 5-for-8 performance in Game 3 before he was ejected, and that drops down to a truly brutal 4-for-26 across Games 1, 2 and 4.
Harden’s was brutal when he drove. Harden shot 7-for-30 (23.3%) in the paint against the Nets. That was the worst paint field goal percentage in a single series since play-by-play was first tracked in 1996-97.
TONIGHT â˜˜ï¸ Round 2 Game 1
🆚 @sixers
â° 7:30PM
📠@tdgarden
📺 @NBAonTNT
ðŸŽ™ï¸ @985TheSportsHub
Small Business of the Game: https://t.co/PLGjeo7mnC
#BeatPHILA pic.twitter.com/324jcuaQgI— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 1, 2023
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| Title: Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers Betting Preview Game 1 Round 2
| Author: Matt Catton
| Date: April 24, 2023