The Philadelphia 76ers are going on a run right now and it’s shot them right up to the top of the Eastern Conference. Joel Embiid and company have won eight of their last nine games to get to 33-17, nearly a mirror image of the San Antonio Spurs who are bottoming out at 14-38 and have lost eight of their last nine games.
On top of that, Jeremy Sochan, one of the very few bright spots on the Spurs roster, is out tonight.
Philly has a dominant center and the Spurs are trying to lose enough to get their own. Let’s take a look at the odds with a big road favorite tonight.
Sixers vs. Spurs odds, spread and total
Sixers vs. Spurs prediction and pick
Over the most recent nine games for each NBA team, you’d be hard pressed to find teams heading in more different directions. The 76ers are tied for the best record over that stretch, the Spurs tied for the worst. That’s also reflected in betting trends because the Spurs are 0-6 against the spread in their last six games overall.
The Spurs are last in net rating for this stretch, -13.0, but the Sixers, despite their amazing record, are only 12th at 3.7.
Philly is 17th in defensive rating, that end of the floor is their obvious weakness. However, I think that San Antonio will be hard pressed to score. Last time out, the Spurs had to rely on Malaki Branham to lead them off the bench with 22 points.
That was against Sacramento, which is not a good defensive team. On the season, the Kings rate much worse defensively than the Sixers do.
When it comes down to it, James Harden and Joel Embiid dominate lesser competition. The 76ers are 5-1 ATS in their last six games against teams with a winning percentage under .400. Give me the Sixers even as double digit favorites on the road.
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