The Philadelphia 76ers ran the Boston Celtics off the floor in Game 5. But even with the series now headed back to Philadelphia, the sportsbooks still favor Boston — the Celtics opened as the betting favorite to win Game 6. With the Celtics on the brink of elimination, bettors looking for sharp NBA player prop bets should target Tyrese Maxey and Al Horford. Need more Celtics-76ers player props? Check out OddsShopper’s tools for other sharp plays, including our Parlay Builder!
Celtics-76ers Game 6 NBA Player Prop | Tyrese Maxey
Tyrese Maxey O/U 19.5 Points
If you chase Maxey’s impressive Game 5 performance, you’re going to get burned. Tyrese Maxey may have just dropped 30 points on the Celtics in TD Garden, but he is unlikely to cross the 20-point threshold again in Game 6. He has done so just twice in this series and is averaging only 19.2 points per game. Maxey beat this number once in four regular-season games against the Celtics and averaged a miserable 10 points per game across those outings.
The Celtics didn’t do much defensively in Game 5, but Maxey also got lucky and couldn’t miss. He went 47.6% from the field, the best he has shot all series, and 50% from beyond the arc. Maxey benefited from playing a gassed Boston defense that had just forced Game 4 into overtime. But because Boston tapped out early in Game 5, the Celtics should have a slight rest advantage, especially since Doc Rivers had to throw his starters back into the game because of an impressive run by Boston’s reserves.
Another key justification for fading Maxey is his home-away split. Maxey averaged only 17.8 points per game at home this year, a full five points less than what he averaged on the road. Maxey is averaging 18.3 points per game in the Wells Fargo Center during the playoffs and has beaten this number just once — a 33-point outing against the Brooklyn Nets. Let’s trust the books’ decision to back Boston and fade a core piece of Philadelphia’s rotation. Let’s lock in the under at FanDuel Sportsbook — readers yet to register there can get $150 in bonus bets after placing a $5 wager.
Best Celtics-76ers Player Prop: Tyrese Maxey Under 19.5 Points -122 for 1 Unit at FanDuel
Celtics-76ers Game 6 NBA Player Prop | Al Horford
Al Horford O/U 1.5 3-Pointers
Much has been made of ineffective 3-point shooting from Al Horford in this series. He went an atrocious 0-for-7 at home in Game 5 and is now shooting only 31% from beyond the arc in the postseason. However, Horford went 44.6% from beyond the arc in the regular season, and his terrible shooting looks more like a poorly timed cold spell than a meaningful regression. Bettors cannot lose sight of the fact that Horford made at least a pair of 3-pointers in 43 of his 63 games (68.3%).
With this series headed back to Philadelphia, Horford might actually be in for a better game. Most of Horford’s bad playoff games have come in Boston. He is 7-for-14 (50%) in the Wells Fargo Center during the playoffs and went 8-for-18 (44.4%) here in the regular season. Horford infamously played for the 76ers back in the 2019-20 campaign before returning to Boston, so it’s familiar territory for him. We got exposure to him in both away games this series, and we’ll go back to the well on Thursday.
The odds for this prop vary across the market. At FanDuel, bettors will find the price for the over set to -170 (62.9%). Pinnacle, a sharp book, has this priced at -143 (58.9%). But we can lock in the over at -140 (58.3%) via DraftKings Sportsbook, so let’s target it there and hope that Horford can make his uncontested corner 3’s. The 76ers haven’t been worried about defending him, so let’s bank on some positive regression. New users on DraftKings can get $150 in bonus bets by winning a $5 moneyline wager!
Best Celtics-76ers Player Prop: Al Horford Over 1.5 3-Pointers -140 for 0.7 Unit at DraftKings
