Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics - 10/18/22 NBA Picks and Prediction

Boston Celtics (0-0) vs Philadelphia 76ers (0-0)

Game Info: Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 7:30 pm (TD Garden)

Betting Odds: Boston Celtics -2.5 -- Over/Under: 214.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics kick off the NBA season with a battle at the TD Garden on Tuesday night.

The Philadelphia 76ers will be coming into this season with expectations of a deep playoff run after a disappointing season. Joel Embiid led the team with an MVP-calibre season and averaged 30.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, Tyrese Maxey had a breakout season with averages of 17.5 points and 4.3 assists per game, Tobias Harris averaged 17.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while James Harden averaged 21.0 points and 10.5 assists in the 21 regular season games he played. As a team, the 76ers scored an average of 109.9 points per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from the 3-point line. In terms of players to watch out for, PJ Tucker should be a perfect fit for the 76ers along with Montrezl Harrell who are both great new additions, but their success will rely heavily on how Harden plays after a down season.

Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics will be looking to return to the bright lights of the NBA Finals after falling just short to the Warriors in six games last season. Jayson Tatum led the team with averages of 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, Jaylen Brown averaged 23.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, Marcus Smart averaged 12.1 points with 5.9 assists per game while Al Horford averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. As a team, the Celtics scored 111.8 points per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from the 3-point line. The Celtics are coming back into the season with almost an identical roster except for Malcolm Brogdon who should play a pivotal role off the bench, but they have had to deal with plenty of controversy given their sudden coaching change.

Looking at the betting trends, the 76ers are 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 road games and 5-1 ATS in t­heir last six games playing on three or more days rest. The Celtics are 23-11-3 ATS in their last 37 games playing on three or more days rest and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall.

Head to head, the under is 5-1 in the last six meetings in Boston and the 76ers are 7-1 ATS in the last eight meetings overall.

The Celtics will be eager to start off their season with a win at home after losing in the NBA Finals and then dealing with all that coaching drama, but they will be shorthanded as Robert Williams III is expected to sit out until at least December. The 76ers look to have a stronger squad with the additions of Harrell and Tucker, but they’re going to need better production from Harden after playing just 21 games last season. This should be a close one, but with the Celtics still missing Williams, I’ll lean towards the 76ers to pull off the minor upset on the road.

Peter’s Pick Philadelphia +2.5

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The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.

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