The Philadelphia 76ers have pushed the Brooklyn Nets to the brink in their first-round series, winning Thursday’s Game 3 by five points to cover the spread for the third consecutive matchup as a favorite as well.
Philly’s defense has been elite, holding the Nets to 101 or fewer points in all three games of the series. The Sixers also weathered a huge third quarter run by the Nets in Game 3 despite the ejection of James Harden.
Brooklyn simply doesn’t have the star power to deal with the Sixers, especially when Tyrese Maxey (33 points in Game 2, 25 points in Game 3) is playing at an elite level.
Philly is favored once again in Game 4, but should bettors feel comfortable taking the Sixers to win and cover for the sweep?
Sixers vs. Nets odds, spread and total
Sixers vs. Nets prediction and pick
This game is Philly or nothing for me, even with the spread jumping from 4.5 last game to 5.5 in Game 4.
The Sixers did not play their best basketball in Game 3, losing Harden to a Flagrant II and watching Embiid score just 14 points.
The Nets have done everything they can to take away Embiid, but ultimately their offense just hasn’t been good enough to win a game in this series.
Brooklyn is 11th of 16 playoff teams in effective field goal percentage and 13th of 16 teams in offensive rating so far this postseason.
Harden, who had 21 in Game 3, could have swung that matchup in an even bigger way for Philly if he doesn’t get tossed, so I’m not worried about laying the points with the Sixers.
Embiid has gotten beaten up a bit over these first three games, so Philly is going to come out determined to win Game 4 and get the maximum amount of rest before an inevitable matchup with Boston in the second round.
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