Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers Prediction, 5/5/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers

Date: Friday, May 5, 2023

Location: Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Boston (-1)

The Philadelphia 76ers host the Boston Celtics at Wells Fargo Center on Friday in Game 3 of their series. The series is tied 1-1. Boston opens this contest as 1-point favorites. The total has been set at 214.

The Celtics earned the victory with a final of 121-87 in Game 2. In relation to personal fouls, the Celtics finished with 17 while the 76ers accumulated 17 personal fouls. They also buried 6 of their 30 shots from beyond the arc. Philadelphia finished shooting 82.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 19 of their 23 shots. On top of that, Philadelphia pulled down 41 rebounds (6 offensive, 35 defensive) and earned 8 blocked shots. Philadelphia recorded 13 dimes and had 2 steals in this game. In terms of defense, Boston allowed 39.2% from the field on 31 out of 79 shooting. They also dished out 26 assists for this game while forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In terms of grabbing boards, they collected a total of 46 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Celtics made 15 of 16 attempts for a rate of 93.8%. Boston finished with a 46.7% field goal percentage (43 of 92) and knocked down 20 out of their 51 shots from distance.

Jaylen Brown is a player who came through for the contest. He ended up walking away with 25 points on 9 out of 17 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 30 mins and snagged 3 boards. Brown finished shooting 52.9% from the floor and also totaled 4 assists.

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Boston will enter this game with a win-loss mark of 57-25 for the campaign. They are averaging 117.9 pts per contest (4th in the NBA) while going 47.5% from the floor. The Celtics are shooting 37.7% on shots beyond the perimeter (1,315 of 3,492) and 81.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Boston is pulling in 45.3 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 2,186 dimes this year, which ranks 7th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 13.4 times per contest and as a team they commit 18.8 personal fouls every game.

On defense, the Celtics are forcing their opponents into 12.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.1 fouls. They are giving up 34.5% on 3-pointers while they are 5th in basketball in points per game allowed (111.4). The Celtics defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 46.3% (3,425 of 7,394) and they surrender 44.0 rebounds per game as a group. They are ranked 2nd in the league in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,895 relinquished this season.

In Game 2, the 76ers were able to collect 35 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 41 for the game. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while getting 2 steals in the game. The Celtics earned 17 fouls in the game which took the 76ers to the free throw line for 23 tries. They were able to convert 19 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 82.6%. When discussing shooting from beyond the arc, Philadelphia buried 6 out of 30 attempts (20.0%). Overall, the 76ers finished shooting 31 out of 79 from the field which gave them a percentage of 39.2%. The 76ers permitted the Celtics to convert 43 out of 92 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.7% for the contest. They went 39.2% from three-point range by shooting 20 of 51 and ended up going 15 out of 16 from the free throw line (93.8%). In regard to how they attacked the glass, Philadelphia permitted Boston to snag 46 in all (8 offensive).

Tobias Harris was important for the 76ers for the game. Harris scored 16 points in his 33 mins on the hardwood, but wasn't able to notch an assist. He converted 7 of 12 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 58.3%, and had 7 rebounds.

Philadelphia has a win-loss record of 54-28 on the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the 76ers are hitting on 48.7% from the field, which is 6th in the league. Philadelphia has tallied 9,448 points on the season (115.2 per contest) and they pull in 40.9 boards per contest. They are getting an assist 25.2 times per game (16th in basketball) and they are turning it over 13.7 times per contest. The 76ers commit 20.4 fouls per contest while shooting 83.5% from the free throw line.

The Philadelphia defense concedes 34.8% from downtown (952 of 2,735) and their opponents are making 78.1% of their foul shots. They have conceded 24.2 assists and 41.2 boards per contest, which ranks 6th and 2nd in the NBA. The 76ers on the defensive end are ranked 3rd in basketball in PPG allowed with 110.9. They are able to force 14.3 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 47.3% from the field (13th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Boston (-1)

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