The NBA isn’t holding back on the first day back from the All-Star break, as the Philadelphia 76ers host a Western Conference contender in Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Philly has the hardest remaining schedule in the NBA, per Tankathon, and it starts with this game against the No. 2 seed in the West. Memphis entered the break on a bit of a slide, losing six of its last 10 games to fall five games behind Denver.
The Sixers are one of the best teams in the NBA against the spread this season, especially as favorites.
With Joel Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey all healthy, Philly is extremely dangerous on the offensive end of the floor. The Grizz have been without big man Steven Adams (knee), which could hurt them in this matchup with Embiid.
Let’s dive into the odds and a pick for this matchup:
Grizzlies vs. Sixers odds, spread and total
Grizzlies vs. Sixers prediction and pick
This matchup really lines up perfectly for Philly, as the team is elite as a home favorite, going 16-10-1 against the spread and winning those games by an average margin of 5.9 points.
Meanwhile Memphis’ Achilles heel has been its play on the road, going just 11-17 away from FedEx Forum and a league worst 1-7 ATS as road underdogs.
The Grizzlies have a great interior defender in Jaren Jackson Jr., but he is very prone to foul trouble, and that’s going to come into the picture facing Embiid.
The Sixers went into the break on a four-game winning streak, and they are sixth in the NBA in both offensive and defensive rating this season.
With Memphis playing poorly on the road, especially as of late (seven straight road losses), I’ll gladly lay the four points with the Sixers at home.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.