18th October 2022 - preview, prediction & picks:
Well, folks. It’s back! NBA 76 is about to get underway and our first mouth-watering game is a top-class Atlantic Division matchup:
Philadelphia 76ers @ Boston Celtics
Philadelphia 76ers: 2.77 (+177) @ Boston Celtics: 1.45 (-222)
19:30 ET / local
TD Garden. Boston, Massachusetts
Expected lineups/team news:
76ers:
PG - Tyrese Maxey
SG - James Harden
SF - Danny Green
PF - Tobias Harris
C - Joel Embiid
Former MVP James Harden will remain with Philadelphia for at least the next two seasons. He took a pay cut to allow the 76ers to fill out their roster and sign P.J. Tucker and Danuel House.
Celtics:
PG - Marcus Smart
SG - Jaylen Brown
SF - Jayson Tatum
PF - Al Horford
C - Robert Williams III
Signed and waived by first Chicago, then Brooklyn. Noah Vonleh spent a season with the Shanghai Sharks. We feel that he will struggle to make the final roster although his preseason training has been promising.
Brazilian Bruno Caboclo has bounced around a lot and now finds himself looking for a bench place with the Celtics.
2021/22 standings:
Philadelphia: 2nd in Atlantic - 5th in Eastern - 8th in NBA
Boston: 1st in Atlantic - 2nd in Eastern - 6th in NBA
Head-to-head
2021/22:
PHI 2 - 2 BOS
Regular season
PHI 195 - 264 BOS
NBA Playoffs
PHI 47 - 62 BOS
Last game:
76ers 87 - 135 Celtics
This was the season’s worst losing margin for the 76ers. There are only 6 occasions in the franchise’s history where they have lost by a bigger margin.
Rest days:
PHI: >3
BOS: >3
Home/road last 3 games
PHI: - - -
BOS: - - -
NBA Championship odds:
Philadelphia 76ers: 16.00 (+1,500)
Boston Celtics: 5.50 (+450)
Rationale:
Joel Embiid Is a perennial MVP candidate and Tyrese Maxey with beating a path to the door of NBA stardom, we feel that this might be the Philadelphia 76ers’ season.
Their roster is starting to show a bit of real depth, especially with those new signings.
Embiid was sensational in his appearance against Boston. He posted 41 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and four blocks. We think he’s going to tear it up again on October 18th.
Boston will have regrouped after their disappointment in the NBA Finals. We expect a strong showing, especially in front of a sellout home crowd. We’re expecting Jayson Tatum to be a beast.
Prediction:
The Jump Hub team is going with the underdog in this matchup. We feel there is decent value in them here at 2.77 (+177) so we’re sticking our necks out a little making the Philadelphia 76ers our:
2 Star pick **
