NBA Free Premium Play 05/14: Philadelphia 76ers @ Boston Celtics

Philadelphia  at Boston

NBA - 509 Philadelphia 76ers @ 510 Boston Celtics Projected line: Boston by 8 points The Game 1 started terrible for the Celtics, as all their starters excluding Garnett didn't play well in the first half. At one moment, Garnett was shooting 5-8 FG, while the rest of the starters were shooting 2-18 FG! Garnett had a huge game and this will be the trend for this series. In fact, 9 of his 12 FG made were versus Hawes, who can't stop Garnett. With Brand struggling and with Young dealing with a sore ankle, coach Collins needs to play Hawes big minutes. Luckily for Philadelphia, Hawes had a decent offensive game, but on the defensive end, it was painful to watch Hawes trying to defend Garnett. I believe coach Collins will make some adjustments in the way that Philadelphia will defend the pick n roll plays from Boston, however Garnett has a high IQ and if the Sixers send extra coverage on him, he will easily find the open Celtics guard or it will be easier for Rondo or Pierce to attack the rim. Either way, I think that Boston's offense will have a clear edge tonight regarding Garnett. The key for Boston in the Game 1 was coach Rivers' decision of using a small lineup with Rondo/Bradley/Allen/Pierce/Garnett for 11 minutes. In that span, Boston clearly outscored the Sixers, as Philadelphia lacks a powerful frontcourt to crush the boards and pound inside like most teams would do against such undersized lineup. And coach Collins admitted that: "My philosophy has always been if a team goes small, then pound them," Collins said. "We don't have that kind of team." Collins has also a difficult time in using Brand and Hawes together against Boston's small lineup because there's nobody for Brand to guard (Hawes would be on Garnett, which is how he starts the game: "I don't think I can do too well on Paul Pierce," Brand said. "When they go small like that, we just have to match up the best we can." With Turner having a monster first half, coach Rivers changed the defensive assignments of the Celtics with Bradley defending Turner and with success. In the Game 1, Boston missed a lot of wide open shots, as in fact they had solid numbers in all plays, with the exception of the spot up plays, where they had 4-22 FG and 0.36 PPP! I believe Boston won't have such terrible numbers once again on this area and with the edge that Garnett will have on the offensive end, I expect the Celtics to comfortably win this contest. Therefore, I'll be taking Boston in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 510 Boston Celtics (-4,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker