Must Know Betting and Stat Trends for 76ers vs. Celtics and Suns vs. Nuggets on Monday Night
Two NBA playoff semifinal games are on deck Monday night. The 76ers-Celtics series gets underway from TD Garden and later in the evening, the Suns-Nuggets series continues with Game 2 from Ball Arena after Denver jumped out to a 1–0 lead over the weekend.
Both home teams are favored, though the large line in favor of Boston (-10.5) reflects the likelihood that Philadelphia is without its best player, Joel Embiid, while Phoenix is installed as a 4.5-point underdog.
Below are five NBA postseason betting trends to be aware of before these games begin. 76ers-Celtics tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT and Suns-Nuggets begins at 10.
Celtics' Games Hit the Over in Four Straight
The Celtics are the second-highest scoring team in the playoffs to date (121.2 points per game) and the over hit in the final four games of their six-game, first-round series with the Hawks. Compare that with the 76ers, the fourth-lowest scoring team in the postseason (103.8 ppg) and the No. 1 scoring defense (92.5 points per game), who saw the under cash three times during their sweep of the Nets. The line for Game 1 is set at 214 — the lowest for Boston so far in the playoffs and the highest for Philadelphia.
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Tyrese Maxey Player Prop Point Total is 23.5
The league’s leading scorer and likely MVP Embiid (knee) is doubtful for the series opener against the Celtics. If he can’t go, even more scoring responsibility will fall to third-year guard Tyrese Maxey, who led the team in scoring in the Brooklyn series (21.8 ppg). However, Maxey struggled mightily in this matchup during the regular season. He finished with 21 points in a loss to the Celtics in the season opener and proceeded to score a combined 19 points over the next three games on dismal shooting. Maxey’s point total is set at 23.5, the highest for any Philadelphia player.
Jamal Murray Point Total and Three-Pointer Prop
Murray led all scorers with 34 points on six made threes in the series opener. That was his second outing in a row with at least 30 points and five three-pointers. Murray’s point total is set at 25.5 — tied with Nikola Jokić for the highest on the team — and his three-point over/under is set at 3.5 with the over available at plus odds. He’s gone over that scoring total in three of six playoff games so far and hit more than 3.5 threes four times.
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Kevin Durant Player Prop has +185 Payout
Durant (29 points, 14 rebounds) was the Suns’ best player in Game 1, though his team still fell by 18. Devin Booker (35.5 ppg) is Phoenix’s leading scorer so far in the playoffs and his over/under is set at 30.5 while Durant’s is 29.5. Can Durant, who has yet to lead all scorers in a playoff game this year, do so in Game 2 at +185 odds?
Nuggets are 3-1 Against The Spread in Home Playoff Games
The Nuggets went 34–7 at Ball Arena in the regular season, the second-best record in the NBA. The West’s No. 1 seed also finished 25–15–1 against the spread in front of their fans. So far in the playoffs, Denver is 4–0 straight up and 3–1 against the number in the Mile High City. The line for Game 1 was set at 4.5 in favor of the home team, which Jokić and Co. covered easily. The Game 2 spread is identical, once again in the Nuggets’ favor.
