The Philadelphia 76ers took down the Brooklyn Nets in four games, but at what cost? Superstar center Joel Embiid will miss the beginning of this series, potentially giving the Boston Celtics an easy path to the Eastern Conference Finals. Bettors looking for value on the player prop markets for tonight’s Game 1 should target Tyrese Maxey and P.J. Tucker. Looking for more 76ers-Celtics player props? Check out OddsShopper’s tools for other sharp plays, including our Parlay Builder!
76ers-Celtics Game 1 NBA Player Prop | Tyrese Maxey
Tyrese Maxey O/U 1.5 Turnovers
Without Joel Embiid, the 76ers will have to turn to Tyrese Maxey as the secondary ball handler behind James Harden. They did so in Game 4 against the Nets, and Maxey touched the ball a team-high 86 touches. He also coughed it up three times. Maxey averaged only 1.3 turnovers per game in the regular season, but his increased role creates plenty of chances for him to make additional mistakes.
Maxey’s regular-season numbers actually obscure how inefficient he can be. Because he came off the bench 19 times and averaged only 28.7 minutes per contest in those games, his numbers are somewhat skewed. When Maxey started, he averaged 35.8 minutes — and 1.5 turnovers — per game. Maxey is now firmly entrenched in the starting five with Embiid out, and we’re getting him at what his price should’ve been if Embiid were active.
Those skeptical of this bet should look at Maxey’s playoff game logs. The young guard averaged 1.8 turnovers per game as a starter in last year’s playoffs. He mostly avoided those issues in Philadelphia’s opening-round series due to the pressure applied to Embiid and Harden, but he now finds himself in the crosshairs of the Boston Celtics. Let’s back the over at DraftKings Sportsbook. Readers new to DraftKings can get $150 in bonus bets with a winning $5 moneyline wager!
Best 76ers-Celtics Player Prop: Tyrese Maxey Over 1.5 Turnovers -110 for 1 Unit at DraftKings
76ers-Celtics Game 1 NBA Player Prop | P.J. Tucker
P.J. Tucker O/U 0.5 3-Pointers
Few players can fly as far under the radar as P.J. Tucker. Although the absence of Joel Embiid will allow the Celtics to focus more on Tucker defensively, he shouldn’t be higher than fourth on their list of priorities. Maxey, Harden and Tobias Harris can all cause considerably more trouble if left unchecked. Look for the Celtics to prioritize shutting them down by leaving Tucker open in the corner once or twice.
The Celtics have been fine with letting Tucker shoot. He shot a combined 7-for-12 from beyond the arc against them this year with at least one 3-pointer in all but one of his starts. Tucker lined up against the Celtics in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals and averaged 1.1 3-pointers per game with the Heat. He tallied at least one in five of the seven games. He had at least two in a pair of those games.
Although the Celtics defended the corner well in the regular season, their defense let the Atlanta Hawks convert corner 3’s at a much higher clip. The Hawks scored 3.3 corner 3’s per game on a conversion rate of 43.4%. No team still remaining in the playoffs permitted a higher conversion rate from the corner. Let’s get a full unit of exposure to Tucker’s perimeter shooting at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Best 76ers-Celtics Player Prop: P.J. Tucker 1+ Made Threes -160 for 0.8 Unit at FanDuel
Best 76ers-Celtics Player Prop: P.J. Tucker 2+ Made Threes +420 for 0.2 Unit at FanDuel
