The Philadelphia 76ers are expected to be without their top player Joel Embiid when they visit the Boston Celtics Monday in Game 1 of their second-round NBA playoff series.
Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden where Boston is favored by -10 points and -480 on the moneyline, while Philadelphia is +390. The total is 213.5.
The Sixers come into the game with a 58-28 overall record (including playoffs). Philadelphia, which is the #2 seed, swept the Brooklyn Nets 4-0 in their opening-round series. The 3rd-seeded Celtics enter with an overall mark of 61-27. They advanced with a 4-2 series win over the Atlanta Hawks.
All Eyes on Joel Embiid in Round 2
Embiid is still listed as doubtful with a sprained right knee. Without him, it’s tough to imagine a scenario in which Philly can spring the upset. The 7-foot-2, 280-pound MVP favorite participated in post-practice shooting drills on Sunday. But it was his first workout since spraining his lateral collateral ligament in Game 3 of their opening-round series against the Nets.
Embiid hasn’t practiced since the injury but on Sunday, he did some light shooting:
Great to see @JoelEmbiid at shoot around. No knee brace but clearly favoring right knee. Preferentially landing on left side. Seems like he has a was to go before playing tomorrow. Go to https://t.co/Y4ZB0tG5HV for more details. pic.twitter.com/BpRd3m1msg
— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) April 30, 2023
Harden Also Hurting Heading Into Round 2
James Harden is dealing with left Achilles soreness and a shooting slump. His problems started late in the regular season and carried over into the first-round series against the Nets where he connected on just 34.3%, including making just 9 of 34 two-point attempts.
Against Brooklyn, Harden was inconsistent. He was 7of 13 from three-point range in Game 1 (23 points) but was just 1 of 8 from inside the arc. He followed that up with only eight points on 3 of 13 shooting (including 1of 5 from two-point range) in Game 2. Harden bounced back with 21 points on 8 of 15 shooting in Game 3 (prior to his ejection), but he had only 17 points on 4 of 18 shooting in the closeout Game 4.
He did draw eight free-throw attempts in that game after finishing with only three across the first three games combined, but he wound up shooting a horrific 7 of 30 in the series.
Then there was the ejection in Game 3:
James Harden has been ejected from Sixers-Nets Game 3 for his groin shot to Royce O'Neale 👀
Good ejection or bad ejection?pic.twitter.com/PdOV69VuZ6
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 21, 2023
Celtics Favored To Win Series vs 76ers
It feels like there should be several prices based on Embiid’s availability. But we’ll take what we can get. BetOnline has Boston as a -450 series favorite with Philadelphia at +360.
The Celtics would be favored even if Embiid were 100%. Especially with the “Jays” Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown leading the way:
Jayson Tatum Spins and scores pic.twitter.com/T5SAisgKwM
— PlaybyPlayBark (@playbyplaybark) April 26, 2023
┏┓
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┃╱╱╲╲ house
╱╱╭╮╲╲ we
▔▏┗┛▕▔ consider
╱▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔╲
JAYLEN BROWN
╱╱┏┳┓╭╮┏┳┓ ╲╲
▔▏┗┻┛┃┃┗┻┛▕▔32-5-2 on 13-25 FG & 6-8 3PT shooting in G6 win over Hawks 🥵
Full highlights ▶️ https://t.co/UiqvXHOWtx pic.twitter.com/VB7OwZFG9a
— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) April 28, 2023
Bottom Line
More than anything else, Embiid’s health will define this series. If he’s physically compromised in any way, it’s hard to see the Sixers having enough firepower to beat their division rivals.
The Celtics’ strengths are many. They boast strong three-point shooting, Tatum and Brown are elite players and the backcourt is as good as it gets in terms of defense. Philadelphia will need to be far better than they were against the Nets to have a chance in this series.
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