Andrew Ortenberg
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We’ve got a jam-packed NBA Friday slate, and one of the best games is the second half of this two-game set between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics. There’s a lot of bad blood between these franchises after Boston swept Philly in the playoffs last year, and that bad blood was on full display in the first game of this mini-series. Joel Embiid and Marcus Smart exchanged barbs in the media after the game, and this one should get very chippy again.
What better way to make this nationally televised showdown even more entertaining than by betting a same game parlay? We’ve also got thoughts on the side and total, which you can find out in our full game preview. If you’re new to same game parlays and want to find out more, be sure to check out our handy guide, which details how they work and which sportsbooks currently offer them. Make sure you also check out the rest of our picks for every single NBA game tonight.
Boston Celtics to win by 11+ (+800)
Kemba Walker under 18.5 points (-122)
Parlay odds: +1748
We’re keeping it simple here with only two legs, and a massive payout from FanDuel Sportsbook. I think there’s a very plausible scenario where Boston wins this game going away, and we certainly don’t need a huge night from Kemba Walker to get there. Let’s break it down:
Boston Celtics to win by 11+ (+800)
Boston narrowly lost the first meeting on Wednesday, but it was a toss-up game that came down to the wire. The Celtics have been stewing after they felt they got an unfair whistle, and I expect them to come out on fire here. This felt like a two-game set that was always destined to be split, and whoever won the first game would be at a big disadvantage in the second. Boston’s last win was by 27 points against Orlando, so they’re certainly more than capable of blowing teams out.
They played well enough to beat Philadelphia on Wednesday, Joel Embiid just happened to be unstoppable that night and scored 42 points. I think Brad Stevens will have a much better plan to contain him here, and Embiid is very unlikely to get 21 free-throw attempts again as he did on Wednesday. The 76ers didn’t even play that well as they shot 46-33-80, the Celtics were just too sloppy with the ball and turned it over 16 times. That’ll be easy to correct here.
#BleedGreen +2.5 ✅
Celtics save our play with OT on the horizon 💪
Who else cashed with us? pic.twitter.com/2lt03jG8sc
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) January 7, 2021
Kemba Walker under 18.5 points (-122)
If the Celtics take care of the first leg I think we’ll cash this, since I don’t see Walker scoring more than 18 points. He scored 19 on Wednesday, which caused oddsmakers to overreact and raise his total. For a few reasons, that’s misguided. The Celtics are still easing Walker in as he returns from his knee injury, and he’s on a minutes restriction. He only played 22 minutes on Wednesday, so it was a huge fluke that he scored 19 as he managed to go 5/9 from three.
That’s not too likely to happen again, and he only had nine points in his previous game. I think these two plays also correlate pretty nicely, since if the Celtics are up big by double digits, they’re going to be extra cautious with Walker and not play him too much. Unless he catches fire from three in a short amount of time again, which I don’t see happening, we’re going to cash the under here.
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