NBA Premium Play 05/16: Boston Celtics @ Philadelphia 76ers

NBA - 513 Boston Celtics @ 514 Philadelphia 76ers

Projected line: 168 points | Boston by 2 points

***The 172 points line is also available on Bodog and on Pinnacle***

Boston lost the Game 2 and they could really be down 0-2 in the series, but it's also true that they were leading the Game 2 down the stretch, but this time they've committed some bad errors on the offensive end. I would really enjoy for the teams to have 2 days off to rest and prepare the game, as in that scenario I would have a Top Play on Boston. I believe fatigue was the main reason why the Celtics lost the Game 2, as their best players just tried to hang around and finish off the Sixers late in the game. 

After the brutal effort from Rondo, Pierce and Garnett in Game 1, these three players were on the court less minutes during Game 2. Coach Rivers knew that they wouldn't be ready to play major minutes with the same level of energy and tried to manage their minutes. But this management was catastrophic in the second quarter, as they started the quarter with the following lineup: Dooling-Allen-Pietrus-Garnett-Stiemsma! Even though this lineup is consistent on the defensive end, they just couldn't generate good looks on the offensive end. I even saw for two and half minutes Stiemsma playing alongside with Hollins, yikes! Rondo, Pierce and especially Garnett tried to manage their energy and when the 4th quarter arrived, Garnett suddenly exploded and dominated in both ends of the floor. He scored 11 of his 15 points in the final quarter. but his energy was so overwhelming that he also committed some offensive fouls late in the game. Pierce also struggled not only by dealing with a bad knee, but also because Iguodala is simply one of the best perimeter defensive players in the league.

So, why do I like Boston for today?

Naturally, this has to do with the level of play from Philadelphia that has been far from convincing me. When I mentioned the bad lineups that coach Rivers was forced to use due to his tired starters, the Sixers should have blown out the Celtics during those stretches and instead of that, they simply hang around with Boston. When the Celtics decreased their offensive level, the Sixers simply hang around with them in this department and this is why it was ugly to watch the game during the 2nd and 3rd quarters. This makes that virtually every single game of this game should end up being a ballgame like the first two games of the series were. 

I haven't seen a lot of people talking about this, but I think that the decisions that coach Collins has been taking haven't been the best ones, especially in terms of lineups used down the stretch that will hurt them in long term. I've already mentioned that Boston has been using some small lineups with Garnett as center and Pierce in the PF position. To counter that, coach Collins used in Game 2 a lineup with Holiday-Louis-Turner-Iguodala-Allen. In my opinion, this lineup is terrible especially on the offensive end because Holiday, Louis and Turner are all players that need the ball in their hands and the ball movement simply wasn't there. When Louis has the ball, he won't give it back while Holiday and Turner aren't good with the ball off their hands. This decision from coach Collins resulted in Game 2, but I don't believe that they will have a lot of success in the future, especially knowing that Doc Rivers will certainly counter that in the following games starting today.

I have this contest to be a ballgame once again and as I don't trust in Collins' "down the stretch unit", I think that the Celtics have a great chance to win this game tonight. Therefore, I'll be taking Boston in here. With just 1 day off to rest from Game 2, coach Rivers will be forced to use some bad offensive lineups once again today, while Philadelphia won't take advantage of that on the offensive end. I expect this game to be another ugly one and so, I'll be taking the Under in here as well.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 513/514 Under 172 @ -110 / 1.91 on The Greek

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 513 Boston Celtics (+2) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker