76ers @ Celtics - Game 2 - Vegas Line: Sixers -3.5 points, Moneyline -170
Normally I only bet NFL games days in advance but I have already placed my bet for Game 2 of this series because I believe this line could move. The Sixers were a five point favorite in game 1 and now they are only a 3.5 point favorite in a game they desperately want to win to split the road trip and take home court advantage back with them to Philly.
In game 1, Boston came out with excellent energy on both sides of the ball. Terry Rozier, Jason Tatum and Al Horford all played out of their minds. Coach Brad Stevens had a great game plan and the Celtics executed his vision to perfection by recognizing where the mismatch was on the court and moving the ball to get it where it needed to be. Early on, the Celtics found Horford every time he was being guarded by anybody other than Joel Embiid. And Big Al feasted.
On the other side, Embiid was really the only Sixer who had a good game with 31 points on 12 of 21 shooting, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Ben Simmons was pressured all game by the quickness of the Boston guards and committed an uncharacteristic 7 turnovers and had just 6 assists, mostly due to the very poor perimeter shooting of his wing men. Philadelphia went a combined 5 for 26 from three point range!
The Celtics played a great game and the Sixers had one of their worst games in the last six weeks. All things considered, Philly still scored 101 points and only lost the game by 16. Had they managed to knock down just a few more open looks, say a reasonable 10-26 (38%) from behind the arc, they would have been right in this game which is actually quite impressive to me.
I still believe the 76ers will win this series. Redick, Saric and Covington definitely need to combine for better than 2 made threes per game but I definitely think game 1 will be their worst shooting game of this entire series. Keep in mind that they hadn't played a game in a week and the Celtics only had 1 day off between games and were able to carry over their game 7 energy and momentum into game 1. I expect a different narrative in game 2.
MY BETS FOR GAME 2:
76ers -3.5 to win 2units
76ers ML -170 to win 2units
76ers are now -4