Philadelphia 76ers At Boston Celtics
December 22nd, 2010 at 7:35 PM EST
Opening Line: Boston -10
Current Line: Boston -9
Opening Total: 191
Current Total: 192
Opening Moneyline: Boston -500 / Philadelphia +400
Current Moneyline: Boston -480 / Philadelphia +380
Tonight’s matchup brings together the 11-17 Philadelphia 76ers against the 22-4 Boston Celtics. Boston sits a top the Eastern Conference with an .846 win percentage, a three game lead on 2nd seed Miami, and a 13 game winning streak. The closest they have been to a loss over the win streak actually came against Philadelphia, in a 1 point win on their homecourt last time the two teams faced each other. Boston has only lost 1 home game in 13 games. Philadelphia has been playing suffocating defense until last game against Chicago, a road game that they lost by an absurd 45 points, 121-76. It turned Philadelphia’s positive point differential into a -0.8 now, as they average 96.3 a night and give up 97.1. As you might expect, the Celtics have a very good differential of 9.6, scoring 101.4 and only giving up 91.8, the lowest allowed of any team in the league.
Boston is without Rajon Rondo, who suffered a severely sprained ankle and is out for 3 1/2 more weeks. Starting in his place has been the diminutive Nate Robinson, who is an adequate replacement, despite his shoot-first mentality. He’ll have his hands full with the taller Jrue Holiday, who is 6’4″ to Nate Robinson’s supposed 5’9.”
Some betting trends: Philadelphia has lost 9 of their last 11 on the road. Philadelphia is 7-14-1 ATS in the last 22 games against Boston and they have lost 8 of their last 9 against the Celtics. They have lost 4 of their past 6 at the TD Garden, too.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston’s last 6 games. Boston is 15-10-1 ATS this year and are 10-4 ATS at home.
Some matchups worthy of keeping an eye on:
Andre Iguodala vs. Paul Pierce
If you’ve been reading my game previews, surely you’ve noticed how I have tauted Andre Iguodala’s tough defense. He’s been holding Kobe, LeBron, and the like to well below their scoring averages, and I don’t think much will change against Paul Pierce. Iguodala has a way of keeping defenders in front of him and not falling for pump fakes (something Pierce is notorious for) so he should have no problem keeping Pierce from getting off tonight. Last matchup, Pierce was only able to muster 10 points, attempting only 8 shots. Last year in 3 games against Boston, Pierce managed 14.3 points per game, but most of it was done in one game, scoring 27; the other two he only scored 9 and 7. Iguodala is not a stiff on offense, either. He outscored Pierce last matchup, scoring 14 himself, and averages 15.8 against Boston over his career so far, which is right on pace with his career average of 15.8. His scoring is down a little this year, to 14.7, but he has been doing a premium job on defense.
Elton Brand vs. Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett has apparently found the fountain of youth somewhere outside the TD Garden. He’s averaging 10.0 rebounds a game, his first time averaging double figure rebounds since 2006-2007. To go with his 10 rebounds a game, he’s scoring 15.5 a night on 54.2% field goal and 85.7% Free throws. He struggled a little last game against Brand, however, as he only grabbed 6 rebounds and scored 14 points. Brand got the better of him with 13 points and 14 boards, and has looked to be a much improved player compared to his play in the previous two seasons. His scoring average is up 1.9 points over last year (to 15.0) and his boards are up 2.2 rebounds a game to 8.3. Particuarly impressive has been his 3.6 offensive rebounds a game. Garnett will have to keep an eye on him on the offensive end and box out to prevent him from getting his garbage baskets.
If Philadelphia can keep their composure tonight on the road, it could be a close game, but NBA oddsmakers have taken into account Philadelphia’s horrendous play on the road (3-11) and set teh line accordingly.
