NBA Basketball
2012-05-14 - Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball Eastern Conference Play Off Semi Final
Monday 14 May 2012 - Tip Off 7pm ET
Midnight (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Philadelphia 76ers will feel they blew a chance in game one of this series as they lost a big lead in the final quarter against the Boston Celtics and fell 1-0 down in the series. Doug Collins will be aware of the importance of this game before they head back home and he will not want to go without at least splitting this series and stealing home court advantage.
It was once again down to Kevin Garnett to help the Boston Celtics through this game and earn the one point win. Garnett has been a little testy in the last week as he was first described as 'one of the dirtiest players in the NBA' by a director of the Atlanta Hawks and continuously having questions raised about his age.
His response has been typical as he scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in game six against the Atlanta Hawks and followed that up with 29 points and 11 boards against Philadelphia in game one.
Boston have said they will try and ride this hot streak as much as possible as they are struggling with injuries. Paul Pierce is banged up which is limiting his movement, while Ray Allen played 32 minutes of the bench in the last game.
Philadelphia have admitted their disappointment in not taking game one after having double-digit leads at different points during that game. It will be interesting to see how they react to that defeat with just one day between the first two games in the series.
Head to Head
Boston have now tied the season series with their Atlantic Division rivals at 2-2, with both teams managing to win their home games.
The Celtics are now 1-3 against the spread in those games, and they have fallen to 2-6 against the spread in the last 8 games in the series.
Boston are now 7-1 in their last 8 home games against Philadelphia, although they are just 4-4 against the spread in those games.
Other Interesting Trends
Boston are 8-3 against the spread in their last 11 games as the home favourite of between 0.5 and 4.5 points.
They are 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 games against a team with a losing record on the road.
Philadelphia are 2-5 against the spread in their last 7 games as the road underdog given between 0.5 and 4.5 points.
They are 8-21 against the spread in their last 29 games against a team with a winning record.
Prediction
It didn't quite come off in the first game, but I will be backing the Boston Celtics to win and cover the spread in this game for the following reasons:
First, Boston were given a big scare in the first game and almost lost home court advantage, but they should have their confidence boosted by winning that game and will be fully focused on moving up 2-0 in the series.
Second, Philadelphia have really struggled when playing teams with winning records all season and the emotional defeat on Saturday may make it tough for them to get really involved in this game.
Third, Boston have a strong record at the TD Garden against Philadelphia, although not so much against the spread. This spread looks small enough for the Celtics to take care of business in this one.
The Pick :
Boston Celtics 91-85 Philadelphia 76ers
