May 14, 2023, 10:01 AM ET

ESPN's fantasy basketball and basketball betting tips cheat sheet is your pregame destination for basketball betting predictions and our best intel and data, featuring ESPN's proprietary Basketball Power Index (BPI) to help you make smart fantasy and wagering decisions. NBA game odds for Sunday are provided by Caesars Sportsbook, and fantasy advice is based on ESPN 10-team leagues.

What you need to know for Sunday's game

There is one game on tap today, the only Game 7 of the conference semifinals: 76ers at Celtics. These are two evenly matched teams that have played each other to a standstill thus far. While Joel Embiid's production has been pretty consistent since he got healthy enough to play full minutes, we've seen big variation in the output of other stars like Jayson Tatum, James Harden and Jaylen Brown. This game is for all the marbles, and I'm expecting a close, physical, defensive-minded contest in which the team with the best shot-makers down the stretch take it home. Let's explore.

-- Andre Snellings

Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
Game 7: 3:30 p.m. ET, series tied 3-3

Records (against the spread)
76ers: 54-28 (46-35-1)
Celtics: 57-25 (45-36-1)

Line: Celtics (-6.5) Total: 201
BPI projection: Celtics by 2.8
Money line: 76ers (+215), Celtics (-267)

Injury report:
76ers: None reported
Celtics: Danilo Gallinari, (OUT - Knee)
Note: BPI numbers factor players who are ruled out but assume GTD players will play.

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Best Bet: 76ers +7. I know this bet may seem ludicrous given Doc Rivers' very significant struggles in closeout games, but the number is just too much given the type of game environment expected. The total for the game is just 203. Game 6 finished 95-86. I do expect the pace to pick up a bit moving from Philly to Boston, but still, this is going to be a very tense, very physical, very methodical game environment. This bet is not so much on Rivers, but MVP Joel Embiid asserting his will and keeping this game tight down to the very end. -- Tyler Fulghum

Best Bet: Jayson Tatum over 14.5 total assists + rebounds: Tatum's scoring has been up and down in this series, but his efforts as a distributor and on the glass have been metronome consistent. He has at least 15 total assists + rebounds in five of the six games in the series, including the past four in a row. In a closeout where both defense and nerves will be tight, I expect a lot of rebound opportunities for Tatum. -- Snellings

Best Bet: Joel Embiid OVER 30.5 points. Embiid managed just 26 points in Game 6, but the 76ers scored just 86 as a team. It's been well-documented that the MVP didn't touch the ball in the final four minutes of the game, which is completely inexcusable. Rest assured, that won't happen again. I expect Philly to produce more than 86 points, I expect Embiid to take more than 19 FG attempts and eight FT attempts. He should play 40-plus minutes in this do-or-die scenario, so the opportunity will be there for him to go over this number. -- Fulghum

Best Bet: James Harden over 15.5 total assists + rebounds. Once again, Harden's scoring has been all over the map in this series, but his rebounding and assist numbers have been rock steady. He has at least 16 total assists + rebounds in four straight games, including every game in which Joel Embiid has played more than 28 minutes. -- Snellings

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2023-05-15 00:00:27