The New York Knicks find themselves facing one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. They’ll head out to Philadelphia to face the 76ers, who they just lost to. After losing 125-109 at home, they’ll hope that they have better luck stopping Embiid in Philadelphia. The Knicks need to start winning games if they have any playoff hopes. A six-game losing streak won’t help.
The Philadelphia 76ers have a lot going for them right now. They have two incredible scorers leading the team, Joel Embiid and James Harden. Teams had trouble stopping just Embiid, but now they have Harden to worry about as well. In their last game against the Knicks, Embiid put up 37 points. James Harden contributed as well with 16 assists. Is another win on the horizon? Take a look at all our NBA computer picks and our Same Game Parlay below.
Game Preview: New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers
The New York Knicks clearly struggled to slow down the 76ers in their last game. Allowing Embid to put up 37 points, along with a triple-double from Harden, is a defensive nightmare. However, now that the game is over, they can adjust and figure out what they did wrong. From there, maybe they can tailor their defense to do better against James Harden and Joel Embiid.
The Philadelphia 76ers will yet again rely on their offense to take down the 76ers. All they’ll focus on is getting the ball to Embiid in the paint, something Harden can do well. Of course, if that doesn’t work, they can always resort to allowing Harden to take over the scoring. He’s one of the best in the league at creating points. On his own, he averages 22.7 points with 10 assists.
Against the Spread: Philadelphia 76ers -10.5
The last game between these two teams ended in a 125-109 victory for the Sixers. They were on the road in that game, but they’re back in Philadelphia this time. Now, the Sixers have done well at covering the spread at home in the past, but that’s before James Harden. With Harden on the team, we don’t see them having trouble covering the 10.5 spread against New York tonight.
The Total: OVER 222.5
Normally, in games with Philadelphia, we’d take the under. However, in their last game against the Knicks, the total was set at 219.5, and it went over. The newfound offense of the 76ers propels them forward and puts up a lot of points. We also think the Knicks will do a slightly better job on offense. Philadelphia has gone over the total four times in their last five games.
Player Points: Joel Embiid UNDER 30.5
Although we think Joel Embiid will have another great game, we don’t see him going over 30.5. The reason for this is that the Knicks know it’s because of Embiid that they lost the last game. A lot more focus will be on Embiid this time as they try to put multiple bodies on him. However, this opens an opportunity for another player to go well over their expected total today.
Player Points: James Harden OVER 24.5
Harden nearly averages this much on his own, but the attention will be taken off him today. After Embiid torched the defense of the Knicks, we believe Harden will have a huge day today. In their last meeting, Harden secured his first-ever triple-double. A 40-point night for James Harden isn’t out of the question here.