Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics - 12/20/21 NBA Picks and Prediction
Photo by Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Boston Celtics (15-15) vs Philadelphia 76ers (15-15)
Game Info: Monday, December 20, 2021 at 7:30 pm (TD Garden)
Betting Odds: Boston Celtics -3.5 -- Over/Under: Click Here for the Latest Odds
The Philadelphia 76ers invade the TD Garden to do battle with the Boston Celtics on Monday night.
The Philadelphia 76ers have been in a rut lately as they’ve lost four of their past five games and because they had last night’s game postponed, the 76ers haven’t seen the court since losing the Nets in a 114-105 road loss on Thursday. Joel Embiid led the team in scoring with 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Seth Curry added 29 points on 13 of 21 shooting while Shake Milton chipped in with 13 points. as a team, the 76ers shot 43 percent from the field and 10 of 34 from the 3-point line as they fought hard to rally back from a 20-point deficit, only to come up just short as the Nets used a pivotal 14-4 run in the fourth quarter to snatch the game late.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics have been in a funk as they’ve lost four of their past six games, but they will be eager to build some momentum after sneaking past the Knicks in a 114-107 home win on Saturday. Josh Richardson led the team in scoring with 27 points on nine of 14 shooting off the bench, Jayson Tatum added 25 points with nine rebounds while Jaylen Brown chipped in with 23 points and five assists. As a team, the Celtics shot 47 percent from the field and 17 of 45 from the 3-point line as they squandered an early 16-point lead after dominating for most of the first half, before rallying in the fourth quarter where they held the Knicks to just 19 points to escape with the narrow win at home.
Looking at the betting trends, the 76ers are 0-4 ATS in their last four road games, 5-2-1 ATS in their last eight games as an underdog and 1-6 ATS in their last seven games overall. The Celtics are 4-1 ATS in their last five Monday games.
Head to head, the under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings overall, the 76ers are 3-8 ATS in the last 11 meetings in Boston and the 76ers are 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings overall.
The 76ers will be severely shorthanded in this one as Andre Drummond and Shake Milton are both out while Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid are listed as questionable. The Celtics have their own injury concerns as they are sweating on the availability of Dennis Schroder and Jayson Tatum. It’s tough to pick a side in this one as both teams are missing so many key players, but I’m sticking with the Celtics to get the job done at home in this spot.
Peter’s Pick Boston -3.5
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
Mitch's Take...
