The Boston Celtics are on the outside looking in of the Play-In Tournament picture right now, but they can possibly get inside it with a win against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers in Beantown this Thursday.
Catch this game live on Thursday, December 2, at 8:30 AM, Manila time.
Away: Philadelphia 76ers (11-10/6-5 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Tyrese Maxey
- SG: Seth Curry
- SF: Danny Green
- PF: Tobias Harris
- C: Joel Embiid
The Sixers are headed to Thursday’s matchup against their division rival coming off a 101-96 home win over the Orlando Magic last Tueseday. All hands were on deck in that game for Philly, with Joel Embiid, Danny Green, Tobias Harris, and Seth Curry part of the starting unit. Curry went off for a team-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. It was not the sexiest kind of wins this season for the Sixers, as they shot just 40.2 FG% and 30.3 3FG%, but it also showed that Philadelphia can survive ugly games like that.
Curry should be feeling extra confident in his chances to go off again this Thursday after seeing the Celtics get roasted by Fred VanVleet for 27 points last Monday. Embiid, meanwhile, is two games removed from a lengthy absence due to a positive COVID-19 test result, and he’ll look to round into better form against the Celtics after making just four of 16 shots for 16 points in the Magic game. The Sixers are 6-2-1 ATGS in their last nine Thursday (Manila) games and 5-2-1 ATS in their previous eight contests following a victory.
Home: Boston Celtics (11-10/5-4 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Marcus Smart
- SG: Jaylen Brown (GTD)
- SF: Jayson Tatum
- PF: Al Horford
- C: Robert Williams
Like the Sixers, Boston is staring at a good chance that it will have its key players all available to play this Thursday. Dennis Schroder, Robert Williams both sat out last Monday’s 109-97 road win against the Toronto Raptors but their availabilities for the meeting with the Sixers are trending in a positive direction. However, Jaylen Brown is a game-time decision, with Boston trying to regulate his load after he dealt with a hamstring injury. Brown had 16 points in 27 minutes against the Raptors, while Marcus Smart and Josh Richardson finished 21 and 18 points respectively.
Richardson will look to carry his momentum into this matchup against his former team. Although containing Embiid is a big challenge for Boston, the looming return of Williams plus the presence of Al Horford could be enough to slow down the Cameroonian. In addition, the Celtics are sixth in the league with only 43.0 points allowed in the paint per game.
Boston enters Thursday’s outing with a 10-4 ATS record in its last 14 games overall.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: The Sixers begin their four-game road trip with a win and cover (+2).
Over/Under: Embiid rules on both ends of the floor, while Boston’s forwards clicks on offense to get the total line into an Over (211.5) result.
