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Amid an up-and-down opening round for the Boston Celtics, Payton Pritchard has been the one constant.

The reserve guard has delivered the team’s most reliable production against the Philadelphia 76ers—no small feat alongside stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Through five games, Pritchard is stuffing the stat sheet with averages of 15 points, four rebounds, and five assists. Our Celtics vs. 76ers predictions expect the dynamic sixth man to keep setting the tone on Thursday.

My NBA picks take Pritchard to put up points in Game 6.

Celtics vs 76ers prediction

Who will win Celtics vs 76ers Game 6?

Celtics: The Celtics let an opportunity to wrap up this Round 1 series slip away with awful fourth quarter in Game 5. Boston goes back to Philadelphia with the pressure mounting.

The Celtics are one of the best bounce-back teams in the NBA. They’re 21-6 SU and 18-9 ATS off a loss this year and 60-13 SU and 51-22 ATS (70%) off a loss over the past three seasons.

Celtics vs 76ers best bet: Payton Pritchard Over 13.5 points (-112)

It seemed no member of the Boston Celtics was immune to whatever ailment impacted the team’s shooting in the second half of Game 6. The Celtics were outscored 63-40 by the Philadelphia 76ers in the final 24 minutes on Tuesday.

Payton Pritchard struggled in the second half, but his stat line was glowing compared to some of the Celtics’ other standouts. He finished the game with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting in just 26 minutes off the bench, including 1-for-5 from beyond the arc.

When asked about his team’s struggles at home, Pritchard told the media, “I can’t really put my finger on it, but honestly, it feels like we've been better on the road.”

That’s true, at least for Pritchard. This season, he averaged 18.3 points per game as a visitor compared to 15.8 ppg at TD Garden, while shooting identical field-goal rates. His best effort in this series was a 32-point explosion at Philadelphia in Game 5.

Pritchard is picking up the slack, not just left by stars like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum but also the rest of the Celtics’ support staff. Derrick White is broken, and Sam Hauser is ineffective, leaving key minutes to fall to Pritchard.

He’s a collective 22-for-43 from the field the past three games (51%), and with Game 6 expected to be the tightest of the series (Boston -5.5), game script says he’ll log his standard of 32+ minutes.

Player projections are positive for Pritchard as well, with models ranging from 14.9 to 15.3 points in a crucial contest for the Celtics.

Celtics vs 76ers same-game parlay

The Celtics’ struggles aren’t deep rooted. They simply live by the three and die by the three. Boston was in command but got passive, and that led to cold shooting in the home stretch of Game 5. I expect the C’s to come out swinging and make good on a 70% ATS win rate off a loss over the past three seasons.

Tyrese Maxey won’t roll over for Boston at home. And with the game script calling for the Sixers to fight from behind, he’ll try to play catch-up from outside the arc. He’s made three or more triples in each of the past four games in this series.

Celtics vs 76ers SGP

• Celtics -5.5
• Payton Pritchard Over 13.5 points
• Tyrese Maxey Over 2.5 threes

Our "from downtown" SGP: The Other Guys

After struggling all season, the Celtics’ “Other Guys” finally get going in Game 6. White finds his touch, Hauser helps out, and Pritchard silences the always-friendly Philly fans with a high-octane effort that pushes the final past this short Over/Under total.

Celtics vs 76ers SGP

• Celtics -5.5
• Over 212.5
• Payton Pritchard Over 13.5 points
• Derrick White Over 11.5 points
• Sam Hauser Over 6.5 points

Celtics vs 76ers odds for Game 6

• Spread: Celtics -5.5 | 76ers +5.5
• Moneyline: Celtics -245 | 76ers +200
• Over/Under: Over 212.5 | Under 212.5

Celtics vs 76ers betting trend to know

The Boston Celtics are 60-13 SU and 51-22 ATS (70%) off a loss over the past three seasons. Find more NBA betting trends for Celtics vs. 76ers.

How to watch Celtics vs 76ers Game 6

Celtics vs 76ers latest injuries

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In today’s Dub Hub:

• In the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green praised Jonathan Kuminga’s defensive impact in the Hawks-Knicks series.
• ESPN lists the Warriors as a hypothetical trade partner for Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.
• ESPN’s Shams Charania breaks down the NBA’s proposed lottery reform aimed at preventing tanking.

Draymond Green has always taken pride in his defensive mastery with the Golden State Warriors, down to the smallest details. His impact on that end has been generational—and it’s clearly rubbed off on others, including former teammate Jonathan Kuminga.

Now with the Atlanta Hawks, Kuminga made a heads-up defensive play in Game 2 of the team’s First Round Playoff series against the New York Knicks and gave Green a shoutout afterward.

Green returned the love during Monday’s episode of The Draymond Green Show, praising Kuminga’s growth and impact in Atlanta.

Via The Draymond Green Show:

“I love [Jonathan Kuminga] to death. That’s my young fella and to see him out there doing what he’s doing defensively, playing his role on the offensive end, it’s a beautiful sight to see. I know what he’s capable of, and he’s capable of giving you more on the offensive end, but he’s playing his role. I think as the series goes on, he’s going to give you more on the offensive end. But even watching that last play in Game 3, where he guarded the guy, switched, stopped it, chased the guy over, knocked the ball away, ran it, like what can you do when a guy is doing that?”

Kuminga has flashed two-way impact throughout the first-round series against the Knicks. In Atlanta’s two wins, he totaled 40 points on 16-of-26 shooting from the field, three steals, and two blocks to showcase how effective he can be when everything clicks.

However, consistency—much like during his time with the Warriors—hasn’t always been there. He’s struggled from deep in the Hawks’ last two losses, shooting a combined 1-of-11 from three in Games 5 and 6 while scoring 10 and 13 points, respectively.

Still, Green doesn’t seem too concerned as the Hawks now face a 3-2 series deficit. He believes Kuminga will eventually bounce back—if not now, then next season with a full training camp under his belt.

“He’s been in Atlanta for three months, so the offensive role will grow. When you get a training camp under your belt, the offensive role will grow. But he’s doing what he has to do to stay on the floor, and I love to see it.”

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Wednesday, April 29th:

Warriors News:

Those hoping Steve Kerr leaves Warriors should be careful what they wish for | NBC Sports Bay Area

Kerr did some of his best work when the Warriors were most compromised by injury. His overall record is impressive in ways both overt and subtle. latent. More on that later.

Group 2, which seems smaller in number but is particularly vocal in the disaffected chamber of social media, has decided Kerr – who presided over teams that reached the NBA Finals in each of his first five seasons – has lost his touch or, worse, forgotten how to coach. Therefore, it is time for CEO Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy to recruit a replacement for Golden State. Someone they believe is more evolved in the ways of the NBA.

Kawhi Leonard trade: Four offers that could start a Clippers rebuild | ESPN

Golden State Warriors get:

Kawhi Leonard

LA Clippers get:

Jimmy Butler III
2027 first-round pick (lottery-protected)
2032 first-round pick

The Warriors have been connected more to Leonard than any other team in recent months, and for good reason. After Butler tore his ACL in January, the Warriors need a Plan B if they want to try to reopen their competitive window while 38-year-old Stephen Curry is still playing at an All-Star level.

Leonard would be a strong fit as a Butler replacement, with even higher upside after the best regular season of his career. The salaries of the two stars match well enough that no other player would need to be included in this deal.

Steph Curry’s sneaker free agency auction raises $1.7 million for Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation 

NBA News:

4 takeaways: Jalen Brunson stars, Hawks struggle shooting from 3 | NBA

The Hawks were a slightly better-than-average offensive team in the regular season, but they have scored an efficient 119.6 points per 100 possessions (sixth best) as they won 19 of their final 24 games.

In this series, they’ve scored just 106.9 per 100, the second worst mark for any team not involved in the Detroit-Orlando car crash. In four of the five games, the Hawks have scored well below league-average efficiency.

Some of that is some poor shooting from open 3-point shooters. The Knicks haven’t been perfect defensively.

But they’ve been very good. The Hawks had some success attacking Brunson down the stretch of Game 2, but Towns has passed the test. In fact, he had two terrific defensive plays against the Hawks’ two biggest offensive threats on Tuesday.

ESPN’s Shams Charania breaks down NBA’s proposed anti-tanking lottery changes

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

NBA shares newest draft lottery proposal with general managers

Instead, the proposal would expand the lottery to include 16 teams, comprising the 10 teams that miss the Play-In Tournament, the two losers of each conference’s 7-8 play-in matchup, and the four 9-10 seeds. Rather than giving the most lottery balls to the worst teams, the system would instead most heavily favor teams with the 4th through 10th worst records in the league.

Follow @unstoppablebaby on X for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.

Back in 2021, the Lakers were deep into their title defense when LeBron James suffered an injury that changed the trajectory of not just that season, but the career of their superstar.

Los Angeles was hosting Atlanta when Solomon Hill dove headfirst at LeBron’s legs. Every Lakers fan likely remembers what happened next as LeBron crumpled to the ground and missed the next 21 games. By the time he returned, the Lakers had gone from contenders to a play-in team before ultimately losing to the Suns in the opening round of the playoffs.

That play involving Hill will haunt Lakers fans for decades to come, especially after LeBron admitted to Dave McMenamin of ESPN that he has never truly physically recovered.

“My foot and my ankle ain’t been the same since. Ever since that injury, I’ve been fighting uphill to get it back to normal. But it’s been a little blah ever since. What could have been, for sure. I was playing some of the best basketball of my career up until that point and leading this franchise in the right direction and then something like that happens, a high ankle sprain, and there’s nothing you can do about that.”

Even at the time, the dive Hill took was considered reckless by many. Lakers players Dennis Schröder and Montrezl Harrell both said it was postgame, and Hill had to defend himself.

Dirty or not, the impact has been significant, as it’s been years later and LeBron still doesn’t feel the same. Since then, LeBron has sustained additional injuries, making it impossible to be fully healthy.

In 2023, he tore a tendon in his right foot and went to “the LeBron James of feet” to get it fixed. He did come back, but his burst was clearly missing and LeBron hinted that perhaps only offseason surgery could fix it.

LeBron avoiding that injury from Hill’s dive is one of the “what ifs” of his career. Perhaps had that not happened, he would’ve kept a bit more of his burst and subsequent injuries to his right foot might have been avoided.

Luckily, it hasn’t stopped James from having a long and successful career, but it’s still frustrating to hear that such a reckless dive continues to impact his game to this day.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

Betting on himself this season didn’t go nearly as well as Quentin Grimes may have hoped. A tumultuous restricted free agency saw him return to the Sixers on only the $6 million dollar qualifying offer in hopes of scoring a better deal the following offseason.

He started well, averaging 17 points per game, shooting 44.8% from the field and 36.9% from three through the first month of the season. Since Dec. 1, though, those numbers dropped to 12.2 points per game and, crucially, a 31% three-point percentage.

His start to the playoffs looked similar. After a great five games in March with Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul George all out, Grimes again looked like he was struggling to scale down into becoming a helpful complementary player. While he made 50% of his threes in the first three games of the Sixers round one series against Boston, he was only taking two a game as the Celtics’ bench exponentially outscored the Sixers’.

It didn’t prevent them from being blown out in Game 4, but Grimes taking seven shot attempts, his most of the series, ended up being a step in the right direction. He followed up the 12-point performance in Game 4 by dropping 18 off the bench in Game 5.

He did so by shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range. Not only did every single one of those feel like huge momentum shifts, but Grimes made the most important play of the game immediately after sinking one.

Embiid had kicked out to him out of the post. He drilled the three from the break to give the Sixers a six-point lead, their highest of the night to that point. Right after burying that he read the pass coming to Jaylen Brown and poked it down the court, nearly stealing it. Brown was able to secure the loose ball was down the other end of the floor, but Grimes stayed right in his face, forcing him to use the remainder of the shot clock to get the ball back into the half court. Brown got off a midrange pull-up, but with Grimes in his face the entire time the ball clanked off the rim and the Sixers got another stop to help build their lead.

The Celtics would only score three more points the rest of the game, missing their last 14 field goals of the night.

Not only was that the biggest play of the Sixers’ entire season, but it highlights two things about the Quentin Grimes experience. The first is why watching him on a nightly basis can be frustrating at times. The second, though, is why can be present value to a team even when he’s struggling offensively.

Grimes hasn’t shot it nearly as well or as frequently as anyone would have hoped. His decision making as a ball handler is frustrating at times — he averaged the second-highest turnover rate of his career this season, per Cleaning the Glass.

Even when he’s struggling with these things his effort is there on defense more often than not. Being strong, quick and on the bigger side for a guard allows him to take on some of the most important assignments, like guarding Jaylen Brown for stretches of games.

There have been plenty of games this year where Grimes couldn’t buy a shot, but needed to close out games because of how much the Sixers needed his defense. It worked out really well for both Grimes and the Sixers that in Game 5 they didn’t have to choose between one or the other.