The Boston Celtics have been the underdogs in every game of their second round series against the Philadelphia 76ers and have come away with an upset win each time. Boston now has a stranglehold on the series with a 3-0 lead and will aim to finish off the sweep in Game 4.
Philadelphia is at home for this game and will once again be favored. It needs to capture this game in order to keep the series alive and send it back to Boston. The Celtics have been discounted because of the injuries to their stars but continue to keep rolling.
One more upset and they will find themselves in the Eastern Conference Finals where they will likely meet LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics would love to close is out on the road. Can the 76ers finally live up to the oddsmakers projections in NBA basketball gambling?
Game 4 of this NBA Playoff Series is on Monday, May 7, 2018 at 6 p.m. ET at the Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The contest will be nationally televised on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
Odds Analysis
The 76ers are listed as 6.5-point favorites to win Game 4. They were 9-point favorites in Game 3 and fell short. Boston is getting about 59 percent of the action to cover this spread.
The scoring total is listed 204.5 points, with the “over”the more popular choice by bettors. The 76ers are -290 favorites to win this game on the moneyline. The Celtics have been paying out lucratively on the moneyline all series long. They are +237 underdogs and would love to pull off a fourth consecutive upset to close out the series and reward those backing them once again.
Last Time Out
The Celtics got a big bucket late from Al Horford as they escaped with a 101-98 victory in overtime. Philadelphia thought it won at the end of regulation when Marco Belinelli hit a jumpshot as time expired. A three-pointer would have given the 76ers a one-point victory, but Belinelli wasn’t far enough back as he only forced extra time.
Horford hit the go-ahead bucket with 5.5 seconds remaining and then knocked down a pair of big free throws. He finished with 13 points and three blocks, while Jayson Tatum led the way with 24 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Joel Embiid had a big game for the 76ers with 22 points and 19 rebounds. Ben Simmons added 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists but had a turnover late in overtime and also took an ill-advised shot.
Coaching Situation
Celtics coach Brad Stevens has been given unanimous praise for helping his team get to this point. Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward are the team’s two best players and each are sidelined for the rest of the year due to injury. Despite that, Boston is on the precipice of making the Easter Conference Finals.
Stevens drew up a great in-bounds play for Horford in Game 3 and has done a fantastic job with matchups and strategy throughout this series. The 76ers may have the better players but Stevens has helped even things out with his great coaching.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The 76ers have failed to live up to expectations in the first three games, and it’s fair to wonder if they are mentally broken after losing the first three games of this series. The belief here is that Philadelphia will finally play up to its capabilities and claim at least one win in this series.
Take the 76ers to both win and cover this spread in NBA basketball betting lines. The “under” is the pick as both teams are figuring each other out.
NBA ATS Pick: 76ers 102, Celtics 93
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