On Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers play host to the sliding San Antonio Spurs. Let’s dig into this one in our Sixers-Spurs betting preview.

At 9-5, the Sixers are firmly in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, just two games behind the first place Boston Celtics. San Antonio comes into the contest at a somewhat shocking 13th place in the Western Conference at 5-10. Any Gregg Popovich-led team is expected to be in playoff contention at the very least. The return of guard Dejounte Murray – who missed last season with a torn ACL – was supposed to provide much-needed scoring relief to DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge. Murray has done his part as he’s been eased into the game plan at a slower rate than he might’ve wanted, but the remaining pieces on the roster haven’t done their part in bringing the Spurs back to prominence.

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Trending in Opposite Directions

The Spurs are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak entering Friday night’s contest, while the Sixers have won consecutive games and are 5-0 at home. The Spurs are winless in five games this season as the underdogs, while the Sixers are 9-1 as the favorites. 

Mentor vs. Student

Gregg Popovich leads the Spurs into town against his former assistant Brett Brown. While Popovich’s team went 8-0 against the Sixers from 2013-2017, Brown’s squad has gotten the better of his mentor’s in three of the past four games against San Antonio.

 

Sixers vs. Spurs Odds

Here’s the line for the Sixers and Spurs at DraftKings Sportsbook PA:

  • Spread: Sixers -7.5, Spurs +7.5
  • Moneyline: Sixers -305, Spurs +245
  • Total: 221.5

 

Bets We Like With a Sixers Win

Sixers Win and Over Total Points (+160, DraftKings)

If you want a no-narrative analysis of this one, FiveThirtyEight gives the Sixers a 86% chance of winning with a -11.5 point line. The Spurs have gone over the total point threshold in five straight, while the Sixers have done so in three of their past five games.

 

Bets We Like Independent of Outcome

Spurs Cover the Spread and Over Total Points(+270, DraftKings)

The Spurs are 7-1 ATS in their past eight games as underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents, while the Sixers have only covered the spread in 46.4% of their games. The Spurs have been involved in some high-scoring affairs this season, leading the score to go over the total points line in their past five games to the tune of a 14.1 points per game. The Sixers, on the other hand, have seen three of their past five games go over the total points line.

Something counter to keep in mind per “Big Bet Bob”: The Under is 44-32-4 when the road team has gone over five straight games and has gone over by an average of 10-14 points per game. It’s 24-15-1 when the over average is between 12-14 points and 12-6-1 when between 13-14 points.”

You can get this one at DraftKings Sportsbook by clicking here.

Ben Simmons Over 7.5 Assists and Joel Embiid Over 12.5 Rebounds (+230, FoxBet)

Joel Embiid is averaging 12 rebounds per game in November and has posted 12+ rebounds in three of the past four games. In his last 3 games vs. West, he collected 12, 15, and 16 rebounds. In his last four games against the Spurs, he pulled down 19, 11, 13, and 11 boards.

Ben Simmons’ assist number against the Spurs haven’t been exceptional historically, having dished out 4, 7, 6, and 15 assists in his past four games agains the Spurs. However, he’s averaging 7.4 assists in November, and has gone over 7.5 assists in the team’s last 3 games (13, 11, 8). In his past three games against the Western Conference -taking out the Utah Jazz game in which he sustained an injury after 10 minutes- Simmons has handed out 7.3 assists per game.

New users at FOX Bet can get a $20 free bet with no deposit and a $100 deposit match when they sign up here.

 

Shot in the Dark

Ben Simmons 1+ Made 3PT Shot (+550, FoxBet)

If you believe in Ben Simmons’ newfound three-point shooting, you can get an Odds Boost from +450 to +550 via FOX Bet.

 

Sixers vs. Spurs Prediction

The Spurs cover the spread, but the Sixers win.

Pick: Sixers win, Spurs cover.