76ers vs Celtics Christmas Day Props – Sixers Start Fast

• The Philadelphia 76ers visit the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day at TD Garden.
• What can we expect from stars Joel Embiid and Kyrie Irving?
• Which team will come out strong in the first quarter?

Christmas Day features a matchup between the 22-12 Philadelphia 76ers traveling to the 18-13 Boston Celtics. We dig into the prop cards to find the three best bets for this match Tuesday.

Prop #1: Joel Embiid Under 37.5 Total Points & Rebounds

All odds taken on 12/25/18.

Embiid comes into this Christmas matchup as the league’s sixth-leading scorer at 26.4 PPG. He’s also fourth in rebounding with 13.2 RPG.

Embiid is basically a lock for at least 20 points and double-digit rebounds as he’s hit those totals in five of his past six games. However, his stats have dipped in the month of December.

Compared to November, his PPG and RPG have slipped from 27.8 and 14.2, down to 23.3 and 12.6 respectively.

Embiid Points & Rebounds Last 5 Games

Those stats are definitely still impressive but average out to just below the 37.5 needed to cash this prop. If you look at Embiid’s last five games, he only exceeded this total on two occasions.

Philly is only 6-9 away from home this season and Embiid also hasn’t seen as much success on the road.

The last time Embiid went over 37.5 total points and rebounds on the road came back on November 25 against Brooklyn. In fact throughout November and December he’s only hit that mark three times on the road.

Joel Embiid on recent refocus inside: 'I don't like shooting 3s.' 🏀 https://t.co/M2ScTdG8Ag pic.twitter.com/Gfnb25ymfk

— theScore (@theScore) December 23, 2018

The Celtics also welcomed back Al Horford from injury last game giving them some additional help to defend against Embiid and the rest of Philly’s stars.

Pick 1: Joel Embiid Under 37.5 Total Points & Rebounds

Prop #2: Kyrie Irving Over 11 Total Rebounds & Assists

On the year Kyrie is averaging just over this total with 4.9 RPG and 6.4 APG. From an assists standpoint, that’s good for a share of 14th-best in the league.

Irving’s gone over 11 total rebounds and assists in three of his past five games and is averaging some of the best stats in those categories of his career.

Kyrie Irving 2018 Stats (Per Game)

| 22.6 Pts | 6.4 Ast | 4.9 Reb |

Averaging the most assists and rebounds per game in his career. #Celtics ☘️ #CUsRise pic.twitter.com/Rfk1ADDKW4

— CS (@CullerSports) December 22, 2018

He’s also been improving throughout the season, seeing his assist average improve from 5.4, to 6.6, to 6.7 each month this season. His rebounding has also tipped up slightly at 5.0 in December, up from 4.9 the previous two months.

Irving Rebounds & Assists Last 5 Games

When these teams met in Boston for the season opener, Irving finished with four boards and seven assists. A repeat performance would at worst push your bet.

That game was relatively low scoring with Boston winning 105-87 and with a total set at 223.5 bookies are expecting a little more action from both sides.

That should see Irving rack up a few more stats and go over the posted total of 11.

Kyrie Irving has been relying on a new, subtle secret weapon on offense this year. @GregCassoli explores what it means for him and the Celtics. https://t.co/Payb8jnuIy pic.twitter.com/hyajy8dEIW

— CelticsBlog (@celticsblog) December 24, 2018

Pick 2: Kyrie Irving Over 11 Total Rebounds & Assists

Prop #3: Philadelphia 76ers To Win 1st Quarter

Being home for the holidays and hosting an NBA Christmas Day matchup may not be all it’s cracked up to be.

Last year home teams on Christmas went only 2-3 and were even worse coming out of the gate in losing the first quarter in four of the five games. The Celtics were one of those four teams who played and hosted on Christmas and lost in the first quarter.

This season Boston ranks only 19th in first quarter PPG with 27.5. At home they are also 19th but with a slightly lower average of 27.1.

The C’s have also struggled this year against teams with a winning record. Boston has not defeated a winning team since November 16 against Toronto. Their ten wins since have come against teams with a combined record of 118-215.

.@sixers @JoelEmbiid & JJ Redick combine for 18 of team's 32 1st-quarter points. Embiid is 5th in @NBA w/ an average of 7.6 points per 1st quarter, while the 76ers lead the league w/ 30.4 1st-quarter points per game. The only team in the NBA averaging at least 30.

h/t @nbastats

— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) December 18, 2018

The 76ers will come to town with a winning record and looking for revenge after losing to Boston in the playoffs and in the season opener this year.

Philly are the only team in the NBA to be averaging over 30 PPG in the first quarter at 30.6. Home or away the Sixers start fast as they rank fifth on the road in first quarter scoring with 28.8 PPG.

#NBAXmas is here!!

🎄🏀📺
12:00pm/et: @Bucks/@nyknicks (ESPN)
3:00pm/et: @okcthunder/@HoustonRockets (ABC)
5:30pm/et: @sixers/@celtics (ABC)
8:00pm/et: @Lakers/@warriors (ABC/ESPN)
10:30pm/et: @trailblazers/@utahjazz (ESPN) pic.twitter.com/BgbfzFLvGh

— NBA (@NBA) December 25, 2018

Pick 3: Philadelphia 76ers To Win 1st Quarter