Celtics now clear favorites in East

After letting their opening-round series of the NBA Playoffs last a bit longer than anyone expected, the Boston Celtics put away the Atlanta Hawks with a 128-120 victory in Thursday’s Game 6. It was a strong response after Boston coughed up a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter of Game 5.

And now is when the real fun begins.

The opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs was never supposed to be too competitive. The top teams just had to avoid an upset. The Celtics did, while the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks did not.

As a result, the second-seeded Celtics are in a good position to repeat as Eastern Conference champions and return to the NBA Finals. This conference semifinal series with the third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers might actually be Boston’s biggest hurdle, as the winner of No. 5 seed New York Knicks vs. No. 8 seed Miami Heat would await in the Eastern Conference finals.{/span}

Fortunately for the Celtics, oddsmakers seem to believe they will take care of business in a less intimidating East. At FanDuel Sportsbook, Boston is -310 to win its next series while Philadelphia is priced at +250. The -310 odds imply a probability of 75.6%.

The series spread for this Boston-Philly matchup is set at 1.5 games, with the Celtics getting -120 odds to win this series in six games or fewer. The 76ers are priced at +1.5 (-102) at FanDuel ahead of this series.

As for the correct score of this series, Boston is +270 to win this matchup 4-1. The 4-3 price is listed at +330, followed by a 4-2 value of +450. The Celtics are +650 at FanDuel to sweep the 76ers, who recorded a sweep of their own in the first round.

Perhaps the best series bet is the Game 1 win/series winner parlay, which has the Celtics priced at -170 to claim both. All other options are listed at +500.

Unsurprisingly, the Celtics are the clear favorites to emerge from the East. They are -165 to win the Eastern Conference, good for an implied probability of 62.26%. The 76ers are +350, while the Knicks (+550) and Heat (+800) are both long shots.

Boston is also priced as the favorite at +160 to win the NBA Finals, per FanDuel. The Phoenix Suns (+410) and the Golden State Warriors (+500) appear to be the biggest challengers at securing this year’s crown.

The Celtics are 7.5-point favorites in Game 1 ahead of Monday’s meeting with Philadelphia. The total has been set at 215.

Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET at the TD Garden.