NBA Playoffs Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics betting odds & tips

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics, Wednesday May 8, 8:00 PM EST at TD Garden Boston, MA

The Celtics lead the best of 7 series 3-1

At Bovada the 76ers are a 1.5-point road favorite with the total sitting at 204.5.

The 76ers avoided the sweep in this series winning Game 4 at home 103-92 and even down 3-1 and on the road Bovada still has them as slight betting favorites for this Game 5.

In the3 Game 4 win the 76ers shot a lower FG% (40.4% to 41.3) and a lower 3-pt FG% (26.9% to 34.4%), but they forced 15 turnovers and pulled down 16 offensive rebounds while the Celtics only had six.

Joel Embiid went for 15 points and had 13 rebounds in the Game 4 win and while he only shot 6/15 from the floor he got a lot of help in the game. Dario Saric was the high scorer for Philly going for 25 points and TJ McConnel and Ben Simmons each had 19 points. McConnel had only totaled 16 points in the first four games of the series and Simmons was coming off a terrible Game 3 where he only had one point.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics going for 20 points on 7/16 shooting and frontcourt mate Al Horford had 10 points and 10 boards. They combined for seven turnovers and Horford has totaled 36 points in the last two games after totaling 52 points in the first two games of this series.

Terry Rozier had been averaging 22.3 ppg in the first three games of this series before only going for 11 on 4/11 shooting missing five of his six 3-pointers in the Game 4 loss.

Rozier and Marcus Smart have to play better in Game 5 than they did in Game 3 and shoot the rock better. Solid backcourt play will open up the lane for the big guys and if they struggle shooting the rock again there is a good chance there will be a Game 6 in the City of Brotherly Love.

Celtics key betting trends

• Boston is 11-1 ATS in their last 12 home games.
• Boston had covered the spread in four straight games before failing to do so in Game 4.
• Boston is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games against the 76ers.

The underdog has covered the spread in four of the last five games between these teams.

The Celtics are a perfect 5-0 at home in the playoffs.

76ers key betting trends

• Philadelphia is 12-3 ATS in their last 15 games after an ATS win.
• Philadelphia is 14-5 ATS in their last 19 games after a straight up win.

The 76ers lost three of four games in the regular season to the Celtics, but the one win was in Boston.

While the 76ers won Game 4 to avoid elimination they have a tall hill to climb to get back in this series and in the history of the NBA no team has ever come back after being down 3-0 in a series.

Boston vs. Philadelphia prediction

Back at home the Celtics will get back to business shooting the pill better and not coughing up the rock. Game 5 will be a close one, but the Celtics will get the W, covering the spread at Bovada, close out this series, and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.