The Philadelphia 76ers entered their game on Tuesday against the Boston Celtics as a 13.5 point underdog, however it was the 76ers who not only covered the 13.5 point spread easily, but upset the Boston Celtics convincingly by 14 points in a 111-97 victory. As a result, the 76ers and Celtics are tied at one game apiece in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoff series.
The 76ers regrouped after being beaten 123-91 in game one. The 76ers made some great adjustments as we saw a Philadelphia team lose by 32 points to win by 14 points. That was literally a 46 point swing.
First, the 76ers had a much better second quarter. They were outscored 31-28 in game two. On Tuesday, the 76ers outscored the Celtics 37-26.
We also saw the emergence of rookie shooting guard VJ Edgecombe of Bimini, Bahamas. Edgecombe had the double double as he had 30 points and 10 rebounds. He was a +17 and made six of 10 shots from downtown. In game one, Edgecombe did not make a single three-point shot in five attempts, only scored 13 points, and was a -26. We literally saw a 43 point improvement for Edgecombe when he was on the basketball court from game one to game two.
The Celtics should still be considered the favourite based on what they did in game one. However, the 76ers now have home court advantage as the series shifts to Pennsylvania.
It will also be interesting to see what the line will be for game three. Expect a line to be in the single digits in Boston’s favour. Remember, Philadelphia needed to get through the play-in tournament to officially be postseason bound.
The 76ers won game two without the services of superstar Joel Embiid. The 2023 NBA MVP had appendicitis, and is recovering from appendectomy surgery two weeks ago.
