Pistons vs Sixers gambling odds: Joel Embiid injury will be a factor

In their first road game of the season, Philadelphia 76ers odds favor their chances of winning against the Detroit Pistons.

The Philadelphia 76ers gambling odds should give Sixers fans some confidence. They (+234) are just behind the Milwaukee Bucks (+156) as favorites to win the Eastern Conference and have been given the fourth-best odds to win the NBA title this year (behind the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, and Bucks). Odds courtesy of The Action Network.

The NBA season is 82 games long, though, and Philly is heading into just game two. Let’s take a look at their odds for their first road game and second game overall against the Detroit Pistons, tipping off on Saturday night.

This post was updated at 12:22, October 26. 

Philadelphia 76ers gambling odds against Detroit Pistons

• Favorite: 76ers (-3)
• Over/under: 215.5
• Moneyline: -149 Philadelphia / +135 Detroit

Odds courtesy of The Action Network. According to TAN, more than 80 percent of the bets are going Philadelphia’s way.

Philadelphia has a proficient offense and a lock-down defense. It remains to be seen how their zig to the NBA’s zag of going with an extremely tall starting lineup instead of smaller and quicker will work, but longer arms means more to get in the way of passes.

Philadelphia will likely hold opponents to low point totals throughout the year. That was the difference-maker in their home opener on Wednesday, and even in a game where their offense sputtered a bit out of the gate, they still scored over 100 points before the final buzzer.

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have proven their ability to go after double-doubles and triple-doubles on any given night. Josh Richardson averaged 16.6 points per game with the Miami Heat last season and will be their primary 3-point option in the starting unit.

Tickets, TV and streaming info for Philadelphia 76ers vs Detroit Pistons

• Detroit: Fox Sports Detroit
• Philadelphia: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Radio: 97.3 ESPN Philadelphia
• Stream: Fubo.tv
• Tickets: StubHub

Mini road trip to start the season

After starting their season at home against the Celtics, the Sixers travel to Detroit for Saturday’s game and then have a road game against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. They return home next Wednesday.

This is a great way to ease into the rhythm of the NBA schedule. The Sixers will have four runs of four consecutive road games this season, the most brutal in terms of duration being from December 27th to January 3rd.

They’ll be on fairly fresh legs going into Saturday’s contest, having two full days to recover going in.

Detroit Pistons injury woes start with Blake Griffin

The Detroit Pistons got a very unlucky hand dealt to them to start the season.

In addition to having to start the year with three games in four nights, one of their top players is injured to kick off the year.

Blake Griffin — a third-team All-NBA player last year — will start the year on the bench and be re-evaluated in early November according to a report from ESPN. Their first-round draft pick, Sekou Doumbouya started the year on concussion protocol.

Luckily, it appears Griffin’s injury is nothing serious. Dwane Casey said to ESPN:

"“Still sore, day to day… We’re going to be conservative. Whatever his body says.”"

Long-term this is good news for Detroit, but it means they will start the year shorthanded.

While Griffin is a huge loss, the Pistons showed in game one of the season that they do have other players who can step up. Luke Kennard, Derrick Rose, and Andre Drummond combined for 80 points against the Pacers in their first game of the season.

That’s a lot of points wrapped up in three players, though, and might be unsustainable against a defensive matchup such as the Sixers.

It seems likely that Joel Embiid (if he plays) will be able to keep Drummond from getting things going offensively, and Matisse Thybulle should be able to defend the arc well enough to mitigate Kennard.

Philadelphia 76ers with no major injur… not so fast!

For the past five years, injuries have been a common theme for the Sixers. Fans are still fearful every time Joel Embiid goes after a loose ball; you can practically hear everyone in the Center hold their breath each time.

Exciting rookie after rookie has missed all or a good chunk of their first year (Embiid, Ben Simmons, Zhaire Smith).

When the season started, it appeared the team was healthy and at full capacity for the first time in a long time.

Combine that with the fact that this is the most talented starting five they are rolling out at the start of a season in years (last year’s Embiid/Harris/Butler/Redick/Simmons lineup didn’t come together until the second half of the season) and fans had reason to be excited about the season.

It all came undone rather quickly.

While it’s just an ankle sprain for Joel Embiid, the most common of basketball injuries, it’s frustrating that one game in this is happening for the Sixers. Winters also reported that Mike Scott has a left ankle sprain and is questionable.

UPDATE (11:15am): According to Keith Pompey, Embiid will not play on Saturday.

Joel Embiid vs Andre Drummond

Embiid typically makes life extremely difficult for Drummond. Drummond and the Pistons have beaten Embiid and the Sixers just once.

Drummond last year averaged 17.3 points per game, but averaged just 14.3 points in three matchups with Embiid according to Land of Basketball. Embiid’s points per game against Drummond last year was 32.0 (averaged 27.5 last season).

According to recent injury reports, it appears Drummond could luck out on Saturday. For the Sixers, the biggest thing they will miss out on (and need someone to step up in) is rebounding.

Drummond has 35 rebounds in his first two games. 23 of those came in his season debut which just goes to show why you need to box him out.

Will 3-point shooting be a problem for Sixers?

In the summer of player movement in the NBA, the Sixers lost Jimmy Butler and J.J. Redick to free agency. Redick made the most 3-pointers for Philadelphia last year and Butler the fifth-most.

The Sixers made just seven 3-pointers in their season opener against Boston. They were able to hold Boston to just seven as well, but in a league where games can get out of hand due to what teams do (or don’t do) outside of the arc, this is something to keep an eye on for Philadelphia.

On Monday, it was no big issue, the Sixers were able to get the offense going and scored 107 points.

This game is pretty straightforward. The Sixers are at (nearly) full capacity and more rested, the Pistons are on a brutal leg of their schedule and missing a big piece in Griffin.

It will take a surprising showing from someone on Detroit’s side for them to come up with a win here, as the oddsmakers have noted in their lines. Joel Embiid’s injury is something to watch as starting lineups are released.