The third-seeded Sixers will head to Boston on Sunday afternoon to play the second-seeded Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). After losing Game 5 at TD Garden on Tuesday night, the Celtics bounced back with a 95-86 road win over the Sixers in Game 6 on Thursday night.
Jayson Tatum struggled again to start the game for Boston but showed up when his team needed it the most, scoring 16 points (4-8 FG, 4-5 3pt) in the fourth quarter. Before Tatum went off in the final frame, the Celtics got tremendous starts from Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon. Smart scored a team-high 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 from three-point range. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists. Meanwhile, Brogdon was dialed in off the bench, dropping 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. The Celtics made a noticeable adjustment ahead of Game 6, starting Robert Williams III, which proved to be the right move as he had 10 points, nine rebounds, and was a +18 in 28 minutes.
Meanwhile, the Sixers could not recapture the momentum from Game 5 as they shot 36.1 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from three-point range. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey were Philly's leading scorers with 26 points apiece, but it wasn't enough as Embiid did not make an impact late in the fourth quarter. James Harden took a step back in Game 6 after having two good performances in Games 4 and 5. Harden posted 13 points (4-16 FG, 0-6 3pt), nine assists, and seven rebounds. Embiid and Harden will need to play their best on Sunday to get the Sixers back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2021.
Can the Sixers finally break through their second-round woes, or will the Celtics face off against the Heat in a rematch of last year's ECF? Below, we'll break down Sunday's Sixers-Boston matchup, giving our prediction and best bets for the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
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Sixers vs. Celtics odds, picks, predictions
- Spread: Sixers +6.5 (-110); Celtics -6.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: OVER 201.5 (-105); UNDER 201.5 (-115)
- Moneyline: Sixers +220; Celtics -275
The Celtics enter Game 7 as 6.5-point home favorites after they took care of business on the road at Game 6 on Thursday night. Surprisingly, Boston has not played great at home during the postseason (3-3), despite going 32-9 at TD Garden in the regular season.
If the Celtics want to come away victorious on Sunday afternoon, they will need a better start from Tatum, who had one point (0-10 FG, 0-4 3pt), seven rebounds, and six assists in the first half in Game 5. The star forward first-half struggles have been noticeable over the past couple of games, but he needs to snap out of his funk in a win-or-go-home situation. The Celtics also need to clean up on their turnovers, as they had 18, leading to 18 points for the Sixers. It didn't hurt them in Game 6, but we saw last postseason how Boston's turnover issues were almost a direct correlation to wins and losses.
Therefore, if Boston takes better care of the ball, wins the battle on the glass, and shoots 40-plus percent from three-point range, which they did in Game 6 (42.9), they will advance. However, in Games 1 and 5 at the TD Garden, the Celtics shot 38.5 percent and 31.6 percent and lost.
As for the Sixers, they must weather the first-quarter storm that the Celtics will blitz them with. Boston jumped out to an early lead in the opening frame in Game 5, but they were able to tighten things up at the end of the first quarter. However, Philadelphia's goal should be to win the first quarter, play with the lead, and take the crowd out of it.
MORE SIXERS-CELTICS: Doc Rivers' Game 7 record | Tatum, Embiid, Harden, Brown's stats in Game 7
One way to do that is to get the two-man game going with Embiid and Harden. Embiid and Harden have had their good and not-so-good moments in this series, but to be playing on one accord on Sunday. Harden is averaging 23.8 points, 7.0 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game in five career Game 7s. But the weight of the moment can't fall on those two as the bench must show up. In Game 6, Boston's bench outscored the Sixers 25-11, thanks to Brogdon and Derrick White. Philly needs De'Anthony Melton, Georges Niang, Paul Reed, or Danuel House to be a spark plug. If two out of those four guys show up and the Sixers remember they were one of the best three-point shooting teams in the regular season, Philly will give themselves a puncher's chance.
The Sixers haven't had the best luck in the second round or Game 7s, but trends go out the window in this spot. We know that Sixers head coach Doc Rivers is 6-9 in Game 7s over his career, but this is also Joe Mazzulla's first time in a Game 7. Can Rivers make the necessary adjustments to counter what Mazzulla did in Game 6? I think he can. The Sixers know what this game means for this franchise and will somehow pull out a close-road win.
Prediction: Sixers 105, Celtics 102. Sixers (+6.5) cover the spread, with the game going OVER the total (201.5)
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Best player prop bet for Sixers vs. Celtics: James Harden OVER 15.5 assists and rebounds
The veteran star point guard did not shoot the ball well in Game 6, scoring 13 points on 4-16 from the field and 0-of-6 from beyond the arc. However, he still had a combined 16 assists and rebounds. The Sixers would like for Harden to be better offensively in Game 7. But if the veteran can do what he did in Game 5, where he had 17 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds, they will take it.
The 33-year-old point guard has gone OVER 15.5 assists + rebounds in six out of his past 10 playoff games, including his last four contests. We usually don't like to play props at -125 or higher, but this is excellent value for a player who will have the ball in his hands a ton.
