The new NBA season is back! We have a huge game first up, with the Philadelphia 76ers travelling to face the Boston Celtics. Daniel Costanza has the best bets.
Basketball betting tips: NBA
2pts Philadelphia 76ers +2.5 handicap at 20/21 (Boylesports)
Philadelphia 76ers @ Boston Celtics
- Tip-off time: 00:30 BST, Wednesday
- TV Channel: Sky Sports Main Event
- Moneyline: Philadelphia 76ers 11/10 @ Boston Celtics 8/11
- Points Spread: Philadelphia 76ers (+2.5) 10/11 @ Boston Celtics (-2.5) 10/11
At last, NBA fans rejoice! The day has finally come to kick off what promises to be a stellar 2022/23 NBA season.
The curtain raiser is set to be a cracker, with the 21/22 Eastern Conference winners, the Boston Celtics, hosting the Philadelphia 76ers, meaning there will be plenty of star power on show.
Joel Embiid, James Harden, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will all be looking to get their seasons off to the best possible starts.
I don't think any of us would be surprised to see either of these teams lifting the Eastern Conference trophy and reaching the Finals at the conclusion of this campaign.
While I do have the Celtics as my pick to win the season outright, I think they have some questions that need to be answered early on, and I believe the 76ers are going to be a very tough opening test for this team.
The price on offer about PHILADELPHIA 76ERS +2.5 HANDICAP looks a solid proposition on opening night.
In their four matchups last year, neither team got the upper hand as they split the regular season series 2-2. One of the advantages that I think Philadelphia brings to the table this year is that Boston has not faced this 76er team with Embiid, Harden, and Maxey playing together.
James Harden was brought into Philadelphia late last season in a February trade which sent the disgruntled and distraction of Ben Simmons to Brooklyn. Harden joined this team just after the Celtics and Sixers completed their regular season series, so Boston has not gotten a true taste of what a Joel Embiid and James Harden led offense looks like.
Another big advantage Philadelphia has in their favour is that the Celtics will be without Robert Williams III for the beginning of the season whilst he recovers from the knee surgery he underwent during the offseason. He is a tremendous defensive presence which will be sadly missed in their efforts of slowing down Joel Embiid.
Williams featured in two of the four games these teams played last season, and in those pair of games, Joel Embiid was held to just 13 points in one, and 25 points in the other. That is a far cry from the 41 points Embiid posted in a game the Sixers took from a Williams-less Boston just before Christmas last year.
The Celtics have also had some drama of their own over the last couple weeks and have suspended their head coach Ime Udoka for the entirety of the season, citing "violations of team policies."
That throws interim head coach Joe Mazzulla into the driver's seat. While I think the Celtics will be just fine over time, I believe that if there is ever a chance to play against them, it could be early in the season where there may be some growing pains.
With a new head coach, and the time it will take to adjust in learning to play with new off-season acquisition Malcolm Brogdon, we could see the Celtics start slower than we might otherwise expect.
On the other hand, the 76ers look to be chomping at the bit and ready to make a statement as they get their own season underway which looks to have all the makings of a legitimate championship contender. As previously mentioned, the 76ers have an incredibly strong trio of stars in Embiid, Harden and Maxey, but the difference maker in this game could very well be the supporting cast, which I think is very strong.
One of the newest players on the 76er roster is Montrezl Harrell, who has bounced around a few teams of the last couple of seasons before landing in Philly through free agency this off-season.
He may not scream superstar, but Harrell is one of the most efficient players while on the court and has the numbers to back it up. Last season, Harrell posted a 23.26 PER, which was good enough for 9th across the entire NBA.
The PER, which stands for Player Efficiency Rating, is a rating used to collect all of a player's contributions whilst on the court and put it into one number, using a detailed formula. Even more impressive, is that, of players who played in 70 games or more, Harrell was 4th best in PER, with only Nikola Jokic, Giannis, and Karl-Anthony Towns besting him. That is quite the company to be keeping, and a huge advantage coming off the 76ers bench which I don't believe is being given enough credit yet.
On the other end of the floor, Matisse Thybulle is one of the best defenders in the entirety of the NBA.
Thybulle played more minutes against Tatum than he did guarding anyone else in the NBA last season, and for good reason. When guarding Tatum, Thybulle allowed him to shoot just 6 for 19, holding his field goal percentage to just 31.6%.
To put that into perspective, Tatum shot 45.3% over the entire season last year, and holds a 45.6% for his entire career.
The only problem with Thybulle is his limited ability and contributions on offense, which can force the hand of coach Doc Rivers at times. I would love to see Thybulle play upwards of 30 minutes this evening with a primary focus on stopping Tatum. I believe that would be a big contributor in the Sixers chances of going into Boston and grabbing an opening night victory.
Odds correct at 1530 (18/10/22)
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