The Celtics and 76ers are renewing one of the NBA’s oldest playoff rivalries, but the betting market is making it clear this is not being treated like a vintage coin-flip series.
Boston enters the matchup as a heavy favorite after surprisingly earning the No. 2 seed, while Philadelphia had to survive the Play-In Tournament just to get here after a 45-37 regular season, which was a pleasantly surprising finish in its own right.
Oddsmakers have lined up firmly behind the Celtics.
FanDuel Sportsbook has listed Boston as a 12.5-point favorite for Game 1, while DraftKings Sportsbook reported the Celtics opened around -900 to win the series, compared with +600 for the 76ers.
That gap may be shortened if we had a healthy Joel Embiid.
The Philly big man underwent an appendectomy last week and is still without a timeline to return to the court.
Embiid’s absence means a ton will be placed on the shoulders of Tyrese Maxey, who is coming off a career regular season, during which he averaged 28.3 points per game.
Maxey has thrived against the Celtics this season, and I’m expecting that to continue during Round One even if his team has little shot at pulling off the upset.
In four games against Boston during the regular season, Maxey averaged 30 points per game, having twice dropped at least 33 points.
Betting on the NBA?
He particularly lit it up from beyond the arc, averaging 51.4 percent from 3-point land on nearly nine attempts per game.
Maxey will shine, but that’s about all that will go the Sixers’ way over the next week or so.
The play: Tyrese Maxey to be the series leader in points scored (-120, DraftKings Sportsbook)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Dylan Svoboda is a versatile writer and analyst across many sports. He’s particularly knowledgeable about the big three — MLB, the NFL and the NBA.
