Sport: NBAPick Selection: Philadelphia 76ers +6.5 -110
Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers 7:00 PM ET
Philadelphia 76ers +6.5 -110
***Eastern Conference Game of the Month*** While the Celtics are playing great once again, the Sixers are playing some of the best basketball in the Eastern Conference. After another win on Sunday, they have won 12 of their last 15 games and what once was thought as a pipedream, the playoffs are now a definite reality. Philadelphia is sitting in the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference and just a half-game out of the important 6th spot that Washington currently possesses. The road does not get easy so these games at home become more important.
Philadelphia has lost both meetings so far this season but it was the last one that it remembers. The Sixers had an 11-point lead in the second quarter but fell apart and ended up losing by 27 points. That embarrassing loss has had this game circled for a while. They have been a solid team at home this season and eight straight wins by an average of 18.9 ppg show what sort of dominance it has turned into. During this 15-game run, two losses came at Orlando and Golden St. so take those out and it becomes more impressive.
Boston has absolutely dominated the lower tier of the NBA, going 30-1 against the league?s bottom half. Philadelphia was in that group for must of the season but the recent run has moved it just within the top 16 where the Celtics are a much more average 19-11 including a 10-7 record against teams ranked outside the top 10. This tells us a few things. It shows the Celtics are human after all and by having a better record against the NBA top 10, .692 vs. .588, it shows it gets up for the big ones and not games like this.
The Sixers are just 5-14 against the NBA?s top 10 but a much more respectable 3-5 in home games including two straight. Possibly the most impressive part has been that seven of the last 10 games have been on the road and it is still keeping the momentum going. Four wins in the last five road games can go a long way and that brings in better play for home games due to the gap in between these games. The Sixers are a solid 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games at home. Also note that the public is all over the Celtics here.
As mentioned, this is a huge revenge game for Philadelphia and one it has had penned in for a while. Play on underdogs that are revenging a road blowout loss against opponent of 20 points or more going up against an opponent after two consecutive covers as a favorite. This situation is 37-15 ATS (71.2 percent) over the last five seasons. The Sixers are a spectacular 15-3 ATS in their last 18 home games when playing a team that has won over 70 percent of its games in the second half of the season. Play Philadelphia 76ers 3 Units
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