76ers vs. Celtics Game 7 Picks, Predictions, Best Bets and Spread

Their backs are against the wall. It’s do or die. Win or go home. Anything can happen. Whatever your favorite little saying is about a 7 game, it applies here. The Philadelphia 76ers, a team that barely made the playoffs, pushed the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics to the brink of elimination. It’s Game 7, so we have to bet on that; these are the rules.

Philadelphia has already won two games in Boston, and they now need to win three of four in the series to advance. In the last two games, the 76ers have looked great. They held the Celtics to just 97 points in Game 5 and 93 points in Game 6.

In fact, in their three wins, the 76ers held the Celtics to fewer than 100 points. They’re not exactly known for their defense, but it certainly seems like that’s where their playoff success lies.

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On offense, the team looks very sharp. Tyrese Maxey was able to get to his spots and shot the ball very well this series. VJ Edgecombe looks like a veteran rather than a rookie. The return of Joel Embiid was a boost for the team, and Paul George was very effective.

I won’t say Philadelphia was too good from deep, which is actually a pretty good indicator that they can win Game 7.

The Celtics, in losses, obviously shot poorly, but it’s very surprising how bad it was. They shot just 29% from deep in Game 6, and their free throws were just 9 of 16. Jaylen Brown, usually very reliable, was just 2 of 6 from the charity stripe. The Celtics starters combined to score just 46 points. The majority of these matches have been very one-sided, with the winning team dominating. Only one game has been decided by 10 points or less.

Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics reacts after defeating the Miami Heat 104-103 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on May 27, 2023. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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Boston is one of those teams that tends to live and die in threes, and unfortunately for their fans, they are dying over the last two games. You would like to assume that returning home will give them the opportunity to return to familiar lines of sight.

Besides, it’s not normal for the team to struggle like this for so long. The key to their success may not lie in Brown or Jayson Tatum, but perhaps in Derrick White, who has underperformed in this series. He looked a little better in the Game 6 loss, scoring 11 points, shooting 50 percent from deep and recording three steals.

There are two paths to this game, and I think the spread and the total are extremely correlated in this game. First, for the 76ers to win the game, they will need to control the Celtics’ score again. Keeping Boston under 100 points seems like a tall order. But if this game fails, the 76ers will cover the spread.

A general view of TD Garden before the game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the second round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on May 1, 2023, in Boston, Massachusetts. (David Dow/NBAE/Getty Images)

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If the game ends, the Celtics will win, and I suspect it will be a blowout game. Boston has the ability to destroy teams. The Celtics have played four Game 7s since 2022. They crushed the Bucks 109-81, beat the Heat 100-96, dominated the 76ers 112-88 and most recently lost to the Heat in 2023, 103-84. The Celtics went 3-1 with two dominant wins.

The only loss was ugly and at home against the Heat. It’s hard to believe the Celtics will lose three of four at home, but the 76ers look great. I put aside the spread, but I think the Celtics cover. I also think this game is over. 206.5 is too low a total, and I expect at least one of these teams to reach 110 points.

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