{"id":14054,"date":"2011-03-11T14:27:16","date_gmt":"2011-03-11T19:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/?p=14054"},"modified":"2011-03-11T14:27:16","modified_gmt":"2011-03-11T19:27:16","slug":"possible-first-round-matchup-boston-celtics-at-philadelphia-76ers-betting-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/possible-first-round-matchup-boston-celtics-at-philadelphia-76ers-betting-preview-14054\/","title":{"rendered":"Possible First Round Matchup? – Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers Betting Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boston Celtics AT Philadelphia 76ers<\/strong>
\nMar 11, 2011 at 7 PM EST<\/strong>
\nOpening Line:\u00a0 Boston -2<\/strong>
\nCurrent Line:\u00a0 Boston -1.5<\/strong>
\nOpening Total:\u00a0 188<\/strong>
\nCurrent Total:\u00a0 191.5<\/strong>
\nOpening Moneyline:\u00a0 Bos -130 \/ Phi +110<\/strong>
\nCurrent Moneyline:\u00a0 Bos -125 \/ Phi +105<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers has been pushing all the right buttons during the 2010-11 NBA season<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When one looks at the standings, and then the point spread set by NBA oddsmakers, it is difficult to ascertain why Boston is BARELY favored against a team that is barely over .500 at 33-31.\u00a0 Then, looking deeper into things, it becomes apparent why.\u00a0 Since the 21st of January, the Sixers have gone 16-6, the second best record in the East over that time span (Chicago is 16-4 over that span).<\/p>\n

Indeed, after beginning the season 3-13 and appearing to be on the fast track to nowhere, the Sixers have stepped up to become a threat to whichever team is unfortunate enough to draw them in the first round…and it may be Boston.\u00a0 If the playoffs started today, it would be Chicago, but given Chicago’s dominance lately, it is entirely possible that they over take the Celtics for the first seed in the East.<\/p>\n

The Celtics surprisingly shook things up at the trade deadline and are still coming together as a team.\u00a0 Newly acquired center Nenad Krstic has been very good, as has forward Jeff Green, but Troy Murphy is still finding his way in the offense.\u00a0 Besides that, the Celts have been missing Big Baby, Shaq, and Delonte West.\u00a0 So we won’t really get an idea of what this team is capable of until a few weeks have passed and continuity and steadyness in the roster take hold.<\/p>\n

Some betting trends:<\/p>\n

The total has gone OVER in 5 of Boston’s last 6 games and they are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games.\u00a0 Boston is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games and they are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games.\u00a0 The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston’s last 6 games on the road and they are 4-1 SU In their last 5 on the road.\u00a0 Boston is 9-1 SU in their last 10 games against the Sixers and they are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 against Philly.\u00a0 Boston is 5-0 SU in their last 5 road games against the Sixers and they are 9-2-1 ATS in their last 12 on the road against Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 5 games and they are 7-2 SU in their last 9 games.\u00a0 The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philly’s last 6 games at home and they are 11-4 SU in their last 15 home games.\u00a0 Philly is 1-9 SU in their last 10 games against Boston and they are 8-14-1 ATS in their last 23 against the Celtics.\u00a0 Philadelphia is 0-5 SU in their last 5 games against the Celtics and Philly is 2-9-1 ATS in their last 12 at home against the Celtics.<\/p>\n

Key Matchups:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rajon Rondo vs. Jrue Holiday<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some may say Holiday has been “a pleasant surprise” for the Sixers, but to those who paid attention down the meaningless stretch of games they played at the end of last season, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise at all.\u00a0 While Holiday’s season averages have leaped dramatically, all he is really doing is an imiation of himself at the end of last season.\u00a0 13.9 points per game, 6.3 assists per game, and 4.0 rebounds per game is outstanding for a second year point guard.\u00a0 He’ll attempt to utilize his lanky 6’4″ frame against the shorter, but still “long,” Rondo.\u00a0 Holiday made the most of it last time against the Celtics, scoring 15 points and recording 5 assists and 5 rebounds and in the game prior to that against the C’s, Holiday went for 12 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds.\u00a0 Rondo did not play in the last meeting between the teams, but averages 10.3 points per game and 6.3 assists per game against the Sixers, both slightly below his career averages.<\/p>\n

Paul Pierce vs. Andre Iguodala<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pierce has historically struggled against Andre Iguodala, as do most NBA wing players.\u00a0 Iguodala is as close as you will see to a “lockdown” defender in the NBA today.\u00a0 Pierce is averaging only 10.5 points per game in the two meetings against the Sixers this year while shooting an atrocious 30.4% from the field.\u00a0 Iguodala is only averaging 11.5 himself in those two meetings, but scoring isn’t his main contribution to the team like it is for Paul Pierce.<\/p>\n

Tonight’s game should be a very good one.\u00a0 Philly is very tough at the Wells Fargo Center and they matchup well against the Celtics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Boston Celtics AT Philadelphia 76ers Mar 11, 2011 at 7 PM EST Opening Line:\u00a0 Boston -2 Current Line:\u00a0 Boston -1.5 Opening Total:\u00a0 188 Current Total:\u00a0 191.5 Opening Moneyline:\u00a0 Bos -130 \/ Phi +110 Current Moneyline:\u00a0 Bos -125 \/ Phi +105 When one looks at the standings, and then the point spread set by NBA oddsmakers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40250,"featured_media":9350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1444,133],"tags":[120,832],"class_list":["post-14054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","category-nba-handicapping","tag-boston-celtics","tag-philadelphia-76ers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14054"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14056,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14054\/revisions\/14056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}