PhillyVoice

Philadelphia 76ers:G Ben Simmons; G J.J. Redick; F Robert Covington; F Dario Saric; C Joel Embiid

•Sean Deveney, Sporting News: Sixers in six games.

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For Game 1 in Boston, the Sixers (-180) are four-point favorites over the Celtics (+160),per Bovada.

According to Bovada,the Sixers are favored to winthe series at -430, meaning in order to win $100, you need to bet $430. On the other hand, the Celtics are +315, meaning a $100 bet wins you $315.

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• Kyle Neubeck, PhillyVoice: You can (and should) readKyles full breakdown of the seriesbecause its so much more than just a prediction, but he has the Sixers winning in six.

•: All six of their experts have the Sixers winning, and none have the series going more than six games.

•: Eighteen of their 21 experts are picking the Sixers to advance.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid looks to pass the ball while Boston Celtics guard Terry Rozier defends.

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Boston Celtics:G Terry Rozier; G Marcus Smart; F Jayson Tatum; F Semi Ojeleye; C Al Horford

On one hand, it could serve to revitalize the players, giving rest to tired bodies that would otherwise not have had time to recover. On the other, especially when a team is playing well, it can be a momentum killer and lead to a slow start in their first game back.

Meanwhile, the Celtics dont have the same luxury of thinking added time off could actually be a problem. They were taken to seven games by Milwaukee in their opening-round series before taking down the Bucks on  Saturday night, and possibly losing Jaylen Brown for Game 1 in the process. Despite not having Kyrie Irving for the postseason (and Gordon Hayward for the entire season), Boston still provides a tough challenge for a young Sixers team.

The Philadelphia 76ers havent played a basketball game in a nearly a week. And, this time of year, that can impact a team in one of two ways.

Celtics:Jaylen Brown (hamstring) is doubtful for Game 1. Kyrie Irving (knee), Gordon Hayward (leg), Daniel Theis (knee) are out for the entire postseason.

How the time off has affected Brett Browns team will become known on Monday night, when they head in to the TD Garden to face the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. But after a physical series with the Miami Heat not to mention a star player with a broken face its a good bet that the time off will do more good than harm in the long run, even if it means a slow start in Game 1.