Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction ATS 12/20/21

Philadelphia 76ers (15-15 SU, 13-17 ATS) vs. Boston Celtics (15-15 SU, 15-13-2 ATS)
When: Monday December 20 2021, 07:30 PM (ET)
Where: TD Garden: Boston, Massachusetts
TV: NBC Sports Boston

Point Spread: PHI +3/BOS -3 (Opened at Celtics -3 at BetNow)
Total: OFF (Opened at OFF)
Money Line: Philadelphia OFF/Boston OFF)
Power Rating: OFF

Probable Starting Lineups

76ers: PG Tyrese Maxey, SG Seth Curry, SF Danny Green, PF Tobias Harris, C Joel Embiid
Celtics: PG Marcus Smart, SG Jaylen Brown, SF Jayson Tatum, PF Robert Williams III, C Enes Freedom

Key Injuries

76ers
Joel Embiid: ankle (QUESTIONABLE) Furkan Korkmaz: illness (OUT) Tyrese Maxey: quadricep (QUESTIONABLE) Georges Niang: illness (OUT) Grant Riller: knee (QUESTIONABLE) Ben Simmons: holdout (OUT) Jaden Springer: concussion (QUESTIONABLE)

Celtics
Bruno Fernando: back (OUT) Sam Hauser: illness (OUT) Juancho Hernangomez: illness (OUT) Al Horford: illness (OUT) Romeo Langford: neck (QUESTIONABLE) Jabari Parker: illness (OUT) Dennis Schroder: illness (QUESTIONABLE) Grant Williams: illness (OUT)

Recent Form

The Philadelphia 76ers enter today’s game, having lost three straight games. As of late, the 76ers have struggled to pick up wins, having won just five of their past ten games As the road team, Philadelphia travels to Boston with a negative plus-minus of rating -2.5 points. Overall, the 76ers are ranked 20th among NBA teams in point differential (5.9). Among NBA teams, they have played the 5th toughest schedule.

For bettors, taking the Philadelphia 76ers to cover the spread has been a losing bet as they are covering the spread in 43.30% of their games. Their season-long plus-minus against the spread is -1.5.

On offense, the team’s leading scorer is PG Tyrese Maxey. So far, Maxey is averaging 17.04 points per game. This output places him 13th among point guards. The 76ers’ best three-point shooter has been Seth Curry, connecting on 2.11 shots from downtown per game. Andre Drummond has been in charge of cleaning up the glass, hauling in 9.34 boards per game.

The Boston Celtics enter today’s game, winning five of their past ten games. When playing at TD Garden, the Celtics are an above .500 team, having gone 8-5. As they get set to host the 76ers, Boston has a positive home plus-minus of 1.2 points. Overall the Celtics are ranked 13th among NBA teams in point differential (0.9). So far, the team has played the 7th hardest schedule.

For bettors, taking the Philadelphia 76ers to cover the spread has been a winning bet as they are covering the spread in 53.60% of their games. Their season-long plus-minus against the spread is -0.1.

On offense, the team’s leading scorer is SF Jayson Tatum. So far, Tatum is averaging 26.17 points per game while also leading the team in three-point shots and rebounding.

An Eye On Pace

In terms of pace, the Philadelphia 76ers come into this game ranked 28th. So far, they are averaging just 95.6 possessions per contest. This slow-tempo is most reflected in their lack of three-point shots. On the year, they are ranked 26th, averaging 32 attempts per game. On the other side, Boston also prefers to slow the game down, ranking 22nd in possessions per game. However, despite their limited opportunities, the team still ranks 5th in free-throw attempts.

Matchups And Efficiencies

Heading into this matchup, the Philadelphia 76ers are ranked just 24th in scoring, averaging 105.6 points per contest. Even if the team played a more up-tempo style, they are still ranked just 20th in offensive efficiency. Things aren’t much better on the defensive end of the court as the unit is giving up 110.4 points per 100 possessions. On the other side, Boston is ranked 15th in both points scored and points allowed per game. So far, the strength of their team is their ability to get to the free-throw line, averaging nearly 22 free-throw attempts per game.

The Historicals

Tonight’s matchup will be the second meeting of the season between the 76ers and Celtics. In the first matchup, Boston took down Philadelphia by a score of 88-87.

How the Public is Betting the 76ers vs. Celtics

Unknown% are betting the Nuggets against the spread.
Unknown% are wagering on the game to go Over the posted total of OFF

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Betting Trends Worth Noting

Philadelphia is 5-0 ATS in its last five games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in four of Philadelphia’s last five games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston is 16-3 SU in its last 19 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
Boston is 8-2 SU in its last ten games at home

Joe’s Pick To Cover The Spread

Yet again, we are looking at another game being played without a lot of key players. For Philadelphia, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are each listed as questionable. For Boston, Al Horford, Dennis Schroeder, and Grant Williams will all be missing this game due to COVID 19. However, the Celtics should be in good shape to pull out a win as they will have both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Look for Boston to take care of business at home.

Prop Bets Worth Wagering

Jayson Tatum is putting together another outstanding season as he averages 26.2 points per contest. On the year, he is taking a career-high 21.8 shots per game. I expect Tatum to have another big scoring night vs a depleted 76ers squad.