Football season may be in full swing, but time is running out with less than a month until the Philadelphia 76ers open their season against the Boston Celtics on October 18.
The 76ers, led by MVP finalist Joel Embiid, and former 2018 NBA MVP James Harden, have a lot to prove after being eliminated from the second round of the NBA Playoffs by the Miami Heat (4-2) with a number of additions. to bolster their already strong roster.
The addition of veterans PJ Tucker, Montrezl Harrell and shooter Danuel House will help, along with the emergence of budding third-year star Tyrese Maxey. All will be key elements in propelling this Philadelphia team further into another round of playoff hope, in an Eastern Conference that is only getting tougher.
Ahead of Game 6 of the NBA Finals in June, several sportsbooks opened their 2023 NBA Championship odds, including BetMGM, which had the 76ers rated at +1400 to win it allputting them in a tie at six for the seventh best odds.
Those odds changed when Kevin Durant announced he wanted a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, briefly lowering 76ers odds to +1300 at Caesars Sportsbook, while pulling Brooklyn Nets odds up to +5000. It was recently announced Durant would remain on the roster.
Now that the dust has settled with this situation, with Donovan Mitchell added via trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 76ers officially open training camp with the same NBA title odds they opened with BetMGM: +1400, behind the Boston Celtics (+500), defending champion Golden State Warriors (+650), Milwaukee Bucks (+650), Brooklyn Nets (+700), Los Angeles Clippers (+700) and Phoenix Suns ( +1000).
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To win the East, the 76ers are rated at +750, behind the aforementioned Celtics (+260), Bucks (+325) and Nets (+350).
As for team prop bets, BetMGM has pegged the 76ers’ win total at 50.5 games, on track with their 51 wins a season ago, and their chances of making the playoffs. qualifiers are overwhelming -1400 for “yes” and +750 for “no”. .’
When it comes to individual awards, Embiid sits with the second-best odds to win the 2023 NBA MVP (+600) behind Luka Doncic, the favorite at +400. New additions De’Anthony Melton and Montrezl Harrell are close to winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, with Melton rated at +4000 and Harrell at +5000.
Tyrese Maxey is in the top 10 odds to win Most Improved Player (+2500), while Embiid (+1800) and Matisse Thybulle (+4000) have value to win NBA Defensive Player of the year.
Finally, the betting line ahead of the opening night clash between Boston and Philly favors the NBA Finals runners-up Celtics as 4.5-point favorites inside the TD Garden, with a over/under set at 213.5. The two teams shared the all-season series in the 2021-22 NBA season.
Expectations seem low for the Sixers among bettors, but expectations for this team are still high in Philadelphia. If the 76ers want to make that leap this season, it’ll have to go through the Bucks or the Celtics, as each has represented the East in the Finals for the past two seasons.
NBA Championship Odds: +1400
Eastern Winning Odds: +750
Total gain O/U: 50.5
Odds of making the playoffs: For ‘Yes:’ -1400; for ‘No:’ +750
Opening night line: 76ers (+4.5, +185ML) at Celtics (-4.5, -225ML) O/U: 213.5; 7:30 p.m. on October 18
READ MORE: A second look at the Sixers’ schedule and 10 games that will define their season
The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator or gambling site. We provide this sports betting information for entertainment purposes only.