The Philadelphia 76ers are shorthanded on Sunday when they travel to Detroit to take on the Detroit Pistons and rookie Jaden Ivey.
Philly won’t have P.J. Tucker or Joel Embiid available in this game, but the team is still favored on the road against a Pistons team that has the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
Detroit is without Cade Cunningham for the rest of the 2022-23 season, and forward Marvin Bagley recently went down with a broken hand. Rookie Jalen Duren is questionable for this matchup.
The Pistons are in the running for the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, and they’ve gone just 4-18 against the Eastern Conference so far this season.
With the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers just two games behind them, the Sixers need a win against one of the league’s worst teams to keep pace for a top spot in the East.
Can James Harden and Tyrese Maxey get it done on the road?
Here’s a look at the latest odds and a pick for this Eastern Conference matchup:
Sixers vs. Pistons odds, spread and total
Sixers vs. Pistons prediction and pick
The Sixers have been solid against the spread as road favorites this season, going 5-4, but I actually think the total is where we’re going to find the most value.
Asking Philly to cover this spread on the road without Embiid is tough, but the team has played a lot of high-scoring games as of late, going OVER 229.5 points in four of its last five outings.
On the season, the Sixers 22-16 on OVERs, hitting at a 57.9 percent clip.
It’s hard to find a more favorable matchup for an offense than playing against the Pistons, as they rank 29th in the league in defensive rating and 28th in net rating.
Detroit is 24-17-1 on OVERs this season (58.5 percent), and it has also gone over this total in four of its last five games,
There’s obviously a little cause for concern for the Sixers without Embiid, but Harden and Maxey are more than capable of carrying a team against one of the worst defenses in the NBA.
Detroit is middle of the pack in pace this season, and the Sixers may look to push the ball more since they won’t have Embiid as a post presence tonight.
I’ll gladly back the OVER with how well these two teams have performed for OVER bettors this season.
Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.