Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers betting tips and predictions

7:30pm ET Wednesday, October 23 at Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA

Boston Celtics
Moneyline odds: +190 at Bovada
Betting line: +5.5 at -111.11

Philadelphia 76ers
Moneyline odds: -240 at Bovada
Betting line: -5.5 at -111.11

The Boston Celtics visit the City of Brotherly Love to face the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening game of the 2019/20 NBA season for both teams.

The Celtics were thought to be a title contending team for a few seasons, but they fell below expectations. They are a team loaded with young talent and have added All Star PG Kemba Walker, but they lost Kyrie Irving and Marcus Morris (13.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg last season) and one of their glue guys in Al Horford bolted and joined the 76ers.

It is finals or bust for the Sixers, who lost to the title-winning Toronto Raptors in seven games last season in the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals. While they are stacked with the likes of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris and have added Horford and Josh Richardson (16.6 ppg last season in Miami), they have also lost Jimmy Butler and JJ Reddick.

While the 76ers have solid NBA betting odds of +775 to win the NBA Championship title, the Celtics are way out at +2900.

Not only did the 76ers add two starters in the offseason, they overhauled their bench signing Kyle O’Quinn, Raul Neto, and Trey Burke.

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Embiid has stated that his goal this season is to win the MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year. Last season he was a monster, averaging 27.3 ppg and 13.6 ppg where he finished seventh in the MVP voting. Harris averaged 18.2 ppg, but Butler and Reddick each averaged just above 18 ppg and their production will be missed.

The 76ers did not have a great defensive team last season, but that may change with Horford and Richardson in the lineup.

Philly are loaded, but they head into the season with some question marks. Can Simmons develop a jump shot? Can Embiid stay healthy for the whole season? The big one is who will be the closer for games, as that was taken care of by Butler last season.

The Celtics have lost their leading scorer and assist guy in Irving and their leading rebounder in Horford. The team broke the bank to sign Walker, who averaged 25.6 ppg and 5.9 assists per game and was a third-team All NBA selection.

Boston still have a young core with the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Terry Rozier. The team is hoping Gordon Hayward, who is two years removed from a bad injury, can regain his All Star form after averaging 11.5 ppg last season.

The Celtics ranked eighth in the league on defense last season and they have to play good D this season with all the scoring they lost.

Last season the Celtics took three of four games facing the 76ers, including winning the season opener at home.

Boston Celtics betting trends

• Celtics 6-2 ATS in their last eight road games
• Celtics 0-4 ATS in their last four games

Philadelphia 76ers betting trends

• 76ers are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games
• 76ers are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games
• 76ers have an Under record of 7-2 in their last nine games

Celtics vs 76ers head-to-head trends

• Celtics are 5-0 ATS in their last five games facing the 76ers
• Celtics are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games facing the 76ers

Boston @ Philadelphia NBA betting picks

Philadelphia 76ers -5.5 at -111.11 with Bovada

The Celtics beat the 76ers at home last season in the opening game and won three of four games from their Atlantic Division rival. However, this season in Philly the 76ers will be the team that gets off to a good start. Embiid and Simmons will be too much for Boston to handle and the Celtics will really miss Horford and that will show in this game. The 76ers will win and cover the spread, snapping their five-game ATS losing streak to the Celtics.