Philadelphia 76ers (31-18) vs. Boston Celtics (32-15)
Date/Time: Saturday, February 1 2019 8:30 PM on ABC
In a primetime game on ABC on Saturday night, the Philadelphia 76ers hit the road to face a hot Boston Celtics team.
On the season Philadelphia is 20-25-4 ATS with an O/U record of 23-25 and Boston is 28-17-2 ATS with an O/U record of 20-27.
The 76ers had their two-game win streak snapped in their last game with a 127-117 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks, who are tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second-fewest wins in the league. Philly sits in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference and while 22-2 at home they are only 9-16 on the road.
The Celtics have won two in a row and five of their last six games and are tied with the Miami Heat in the third spot in the East. They are a balanced team that is led by a defense that ranks third in the league only giving up an average of 105.5 ppg.
The 76ers are also led by their defense, which ranks second in the NBA giving up an average of only 104.8 ppg. However, they gave up 127 points in their last game to the Hawks where they allowed them to shoot 48.3% from the floor and gave up 74 points in the first half.
While the 76ers have had their issues on the road this season they did beat the Celtics in Boston this season and have taken both games facing them.
Philadelphia is only 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games facing the Celtics but they have covered in winning the two games against them this season.
Repeat Road Performance
I mentioned the 76ers have struggled on the road this season and the last time they won a road game against a team that has a winning record it was a December 13 115-109 win over the Celtics.
After missing nine games with a hand injury Joel Embiid has totaled 45 points and 24 rebounds his last two games.
In the loss to the Hawks in their last game the 76ers had four of five starters go for at least 21 points led by Ben Simmons with 31 points. Simmons (16.3 ppg 7.8 rpg 8.4 assists per game) was recently named an All-Star reserve in the Eastern Conference and he has averaged 25.4 ppg in his last five games.
Back at Home
After a three-game road trip where the Celtics won two games and beat a good Heat team they were back at home in their last game beating the Golden State Warriors 119-104. Boston is 19-5 this season at home.
In the win over the Warriors, the Celtics shot 47.7% from the floor and 42.9% from 3-pt land and they held Golden State to 42.9% shooting. Gordan Hayward led the way for Boston in the game with 25 points and Jayson Tatum scored 20 points.
Three players for the balanced Celtics are averaging over 20 ppg in Kemba Walker (22.3 ppg), Tatum (21.5 ppg), and Jaylen Brown (20.1 ppg). Walker has struggled with his shot in the last couple of games only totaling 29 points and Tatum returned to the court in the win over the Warriors after missing two games with a groin injury.
Hayward (17 ppg) is the fourth leading scorer for the Celtics and is averaging 24.8 ppg over his last four games.
Our Prediction
The 76ers are only 2-4 ATS in their last six games and 1-7 ATS in their last eight road games.
The Celtics are 5-1 ATS in their last six games.
The 76ers have taken both games facing the Celtics this season and beat them in Boston the last time against them. However, the Celtics are in solid form as of late and will want to get a win over their Atlantic Division rivals in their house.
They will do just that playing well on both sides of the floor, as they will get the win and cover the spread sending Philly to their second straight road loss.
Celtics 112 76ers 107