In case you haven’t noticed, the Sixers are -1.5 tonight against the 0-2 Celtics.
They will win by 10.
I’m not putting on my Brandon Lang hat, but I’ve thought since the beginning of the week – before Gordon Hayward’s awful and unfortunate injury – that the Sixers would pick off the Celtics at home tonight. The line moving in their direction makes it all the more clear.
This game opened with the Sixers as a +1 and has shifted a full (partial?) 2.5 points in their favor.
If there’s one team that has less experience playing together and needs more time to gel than the Sixers, it’s the Celtics, who will start Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford. Tatum, the supposed all-world rookie who may win the Jahlil Michael Carter Okafor award for hitting their ceiling as a rookie, was a -15 against the Bucks. Joel Embiid may literally eat Al Horford in the paint. Dario Saric will awaken in front of the home crowd. Having Hayward would have at least given the Celtics vastly superior talent to most teams in the East even as they all figured out how to play together. Without him, they’re an above average group that is without their top two ballhandlers from last season. They are well on their way to a panicky 0-3 start, which they will eventually bounce back from.
The Sixers may have more raw talent, actually more chemistry, and will be playing in front of a RAUCOUS The Center crowd. Take the Sixers all day. Big win tonight.
