Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics
No team has come back from a 0-3 deficit in the NBA Playoffs. EVER. But the Philadelphia 76ers are looking to be the first out of more than 100 that tried.
After losing the first three games to the Boston Celtics and facing a do-or-die situation, the Sixers woke up from their slumber, played a highly-physical game and repelled their tormentors to live and fight for another day.
At 1-3, the Sixers have a lot of work to do to keep themselves on the good side of the basketball betting gods. And there’s no doubt they have a tough task at hand as they head to Boston for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.
Talking Points
T.J. McConnell’s insertion to the starting lineup worked wonders for the Sixers as the 26-year-old guard scored a career-high—both in the regular season and playoffs—19 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Philly were also more active offensively as Ben Simmons, Dario Saric and Joel Embiid all scored in double figures.
Defence, however, has been the key to their rise in Game 4 that prevented what seemed an unavoidable sweep last weekend. They limited the Celts to just 41.3 percent shooting, this after allowing them to shoot above 45 percent in their previous three games.
Though, it should be noted that there are plenty of officiating errors in the game, with Boston called for 12 fouls in the second quarter alone to just one for Philadelphia.
Heading into Game 5 at TD Garden, the Sixers will undoubtedly look to repeat the same strategy to further chip away at the Celtics’ series advantage.
However, while Game 4 showed that the Sixers have a fighting chance, fans and pundits alike shouldn’t forget the man that catapulted the Celts to where they are now: Brad Stevens.
As Al Horford said after Boston’s win in Philadelphia last Sunday, Stevens is a genius. And how can we refute that after the former Butler coach led his undermanned and injury-riddled squad to playoff contention?
They lost Gordon Hayward in the first game of the campaign while Kyrie Irving was ruled out for the remainder of the season after knee surgery last month. Despite missing his best players, Stevens used his sideline wizardry to get over the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.
Sure enough, it’s difficult to make a bet online against Stevens. He solved the “Sixers” problem in the first three games, and while Brett Brown out-coached him in their latest matchup, it’s hard to imagine Stevens not retaliating.
Not to mention that they will be playing at home where they can close the series and secure their second straight Eastern Finals appearance in the Stevens era.
History
History is against the Sixers in their match with the Celtics. As records suggest, what they are doing now is merely delaying the inevitable.
There’s just no going back from a 0-3 hole. Kudos to their Game 4 effort, but out of the 129 teams that went down to the same deficit, none made it through—Yes, ZERO, O or whatever you want to call it.
The Celts-Sixers head-to-head season record also shows how difficult it is for Philly to mount the historic comeback. Including the playoffs and their recent win, the Sixers are 2-6 against the Greenies this year.
They won one regular-season game last January, though the die-hard fan would argue that Irving was with Boston when they won their first three season match-ups. However, the first three games of this series throw that argument out of the window.
Also, it shouldn’t be forgotten that the Celtics are 27-14 at home in the regular season.
What are the odds?
As expected, the Celtics are the underdogs in Game 5. They have always been since the start of the series, no thanks to injuries. However, our NBA betting lines point to a tight affair at the TD Garden.
The Celtics are given a +2.00 start that pays at 1.89, while the Sixers are at 1.99 with the handicap.
While the Sixers will be motivated by the fact that the top betting sites back them to extend the series, the match could still go either way especially if we factor in Philly’s inexperience. After all, this is the first time that the team made the playoffs since 2012.
Besides Asian Handicap betting odds, it is interesting to note that Over 204.50 pays at 1.99. In two games at the Celtics’ home turf, the two averaged a total score of 214.5 points.
Other notable match-ups
Western Conference Finals Game 5:
- New Orleans Pelicans vs Golden State Warriors: The Pelicans are also at 3-1 and will look to come back from the deficit, but are we really betting against the Warriors?
For the latest sports update, promotions and betting picks with SBOBET get social with our official Twitter, Google+, YouTube and Facebook accounts. Visit SBOBET and join us now. Start placing your bets today!
Click for more basketball betting options.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
