Sportsbook.com NBA Gambling On The Celtics

[Qbins Missile Crisis]

NBA: C’s look for the sweep

The Boston Celtics have already clinched the Atlantic Division title, and tonight they look for their first season sweep of Philadelphia in 12 years. The C’s are nine-point chalk, and 72% of the early action is behind them.

NIT, CBI, and NBA action is all on tap for Monday, so don’t fret if you’re a hoops fan who already misses the NCAA tournament. The ‘Big Dance’ will be back on Thursday, but for now, stay sharp with the rest of the board’s games for the next three days.

Remember, each winning hoops wager you make of $20 or more earns you points towards the ‘Beat the House’ prize for the week.

Boston has dominated all of its Atlantic Division opponents, outscoring them by an average of 15.7 points with an 11-1-1 ATS record, and the 76ers have been no exception.

The Celtics (55-14, 43-25-1 ATS) have reached 100 points in each of their three victories against them, winning by an average of 17.0 points per game. That includes a 100-86 win in Philadelphia on March 10, one of only two Philly losses in 11 games this month. Kevin Garnett led the way for Boston in that game with 26 points and 12 rebounds.

“They make you realize we have a ways to go,” Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said after the game. “We’ve been playing well, but we’ve got to play better. They have seasoned guys, we understand that.”

The Celtics, whose only season sweep of Philadelphia over the past 35 years came in 1995-96, suffered their lone loss to a division opponent this season on January 23rd against Toronto.

A 113-106 loss at New Orleans on Saturday prevented Boston from finishing its five-game road trip undefeated, but the Celtics have still won 14 of their last 16 (11-5 ATS) overall. This is their first game back in Boston since having an 11-game home winning streak snapped with a 110-92 loss to Utah on March 14th. Interestingly enough, they are 3-10-1 ATS in home games following a road trip of a week or more.

The only thing the Celtics have left to play for in the regular season is the top seed in the Eastern Conference. They failed to move a step closer on Saturday, playing their fourth road game against a Western Conference contender in six nights, despite leading the Hornets by 13 points after the first quarter.

“We definitely had our opportunities, had our big early lead, but we couldn’t get stops tonight for some reason,” Boston’s Paul Pierce said. “We just played lackadaisical (in the fourth quarter). You’ve got to give them some credit.” Boston has shown a propensity to bounce back off a straight up loss with an 11-4 ATS record.

The 76ers (35-35, 37-32-1 ATS) deserve plenty of credit recently, winning five of their last six and nine of 11 (7-4 ATS) contests. During this stretch, they have victories over Phoenix, Detroit, and San Antonio. A win over the Celtics would bring them over .500 for the first time this season.

Behind an impressive effort from Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia beat New Jersey 91-87 at home on Saturday. The Sixers held the Nets to 12 fourth-quarter points, while Iguodala scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half. “I think we’re starting to learn a little bit, especially from other teams,” said Iguodala, who has topped 20 points in five of his last six games.

“I try to point out to the guys, let’s learn from those great teams. Learn from the Detroit’s, learn from the Boston’s. The things that they do well, we need to take that from them and incorporate that into our games. I think we’re doing that, especially with the fourth-quarter defense.”

Philadelphia has to been doing something right with an 11-4-1 ATS record against Eastern Conference teams.

Andre Miller added 21 points Saturday, continuing his solid play during the Sixers’ recent run as they’ve moved into a tie with Toronto for sixth place in the East. He’s averaged 22.5 points and 7.3 assists in his last four games. As Philly heads to ‘Beantown’, they are 5-1 against the spread in their last six road tilts.

The total for this game is 193.5 points. Strangely, Philadelphia is 18-4 UNDER on Mondays and Boston is 13-4 UNDER on this day as well.

This contest starts at 7:30 Eastern, with the Celtics 9-2-1 ATS in their last dozen meetings.

StatFox Power Line – Boston by 12