The Sixers shocked the world on Sunday night with a stunning win over the Boston Celtics. James Harden’s clutch 3-pointer was enough to tie up the series before the team heads back on the road for game 5 on Tuesday evening. Can the Sixers find a second win at TD Garden?
Sixers vs Celtics Game 5 info
Who: Sixers vs Celtics
When: 7:30PM Monday, May 8th, 2023
Where: TD Garden, Boston
How to watch: TNT
Sixers vs Celtics Betting odds
Spread: Sixers +7 | Celtics -7
Moneyline: Sixers +245 | Celtics -295
Total: Over/Under 214 points
Sixers vs Celtics betting preview
James Harden & Joel Embiid had huge games in front of a roaring Wells Fargo Center crowd on Sunday night. ‘The Beard’ has struggled this series, but rebounded in a huge way in game 4. A 42-point game was exactly what the Doctor ordered, especially when Embiid struggled in the dying embers of the game. His clutch 3 was enough to seal the win and send a real sign to the Celtics that this series is far from over.
As far as the Celtics go, it wasn’t their best look offensively. Tatum & Brown both seemed to be as clinical as ever, but it didn’t start out that way. Tatum missed his opening 8 buckets in a hostile Philadelphia and both players were overshadowed by a scrappy and almost desperate effort from the Sixers that continued to turn the tide in a back-and-forth affair.
From a betting perspective, I think we’ve learned one thing: This spread is too large and it isn’t coming down.
The Sixers were 10.5 point underdogs in the opening affair without the services of 2023 MVP, Joel Embiid. They won that game. They were 2.5 point underdogs on Sunday and won the game outright.
Sure, they got blown out in game 2 and lost by 12 in game 3, but the Sixers have the ability to play Boston close and if they do, there is far more upside on the handicap than there is backing the Celtics. The Sixers are 17-13 as an underdog this season and 19-12 against teams who are more than .550 on the season. That should correlate nicely to a tightly contested game at TD Garden.
Sixers vs Celtics betting prediction
I’ll happily be the Sixers +7 here, but I also think that there is some value on prop bets.
Al Horford UNDER 8.5 points -105 Outside of his 17-point outing in game 3, the former Sixer hasn’t really been able to produce much as a scorer and I like Embiid to respond with some increased physicality in game 5.
Tyrese Maxey UNDER 18 points -105 Maxey’s value to this Sixers team is huge, but it’s not coming from points. He’s still averaging around 13 points per contest this series, but it’s James Harden who appears to be taking over that primary scoring role. Maxey’s total feels too high going into a road game against the Celtics – a team he only averages 8 points per game against.
Sixers vs Celtics betting offers
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
