The first two matchups between the Celtics and 76ers have featured covers by Philadelphia. This included a matchup to begin the month of February where the Celtics traveled to Philadelphia, and found themselves down 26 points in the late third quarter. They stormed back to win by eight points. Look for the Celtics to avoid a repeat of two weeks ago, and get a resounding win over Philadelphia.

The Celtics have played 55 games already this season and you can see the switch in their attitude and play in their last eight games as they won seven and have a 39- 16 record. It's go time for the Celtics and they're trying to prove that they're ready for back-to-back championships but perhaps they need to prove it to themselves after some uninspired play in the first half of the season. The 76ers are a mess losing seven of their last eight games and not covering their last six. And that's with Joel Embiid. Maybe he wants to play now but I'll take the upswing of the Celtics over the play of the Sixers. Celtics to cover.

We're not going to get enough minutes from Quentin Grimes with the Big 3 back. He comes into this game with three strong overs, his strongest being when Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey didn't play. When he plays 26-28 min (projected for 27) the over is just 5-7. Grimes should be just as impacted by the Big 3 as the other role players, but for whatever reason they are feeding us the same line from recent games. Expect closet to a 16 PRA, which is his overall home average.

The Celtics will be a play on the road for me a lot in second half, especially laying less than 10. They came back from 26 down vs. Philly last time they met and still almost covered. It reminds me of getting them -7.5 at Miami before the break. Embiid's health is always a concern. Celtics seem to be thriving lately with the Cavs pushing them. Philly failed to cover in six straight prior to the break. Jason Tatum is looking fairly unstoppable the last two weeks. Boston too deep for the Sixers. Expect them to make a statement coming off the rest and make this a blowout. It was a sizeable Celtics crowd last time they were in Philly helping to fuel the comeback.