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On Tuesday evening, the Sixers play host to the Brooklyn Nets in the fist game for both teams since the NBA All-Star break. While the Sixers’ 34-21 record is disappointing relative to preseason expectations, the Nets’ 25-28 record is downright disgraceful. The Nets were a 42-40 team with exceptional chemistry a season ago. They parlayed D’Angelo Russell into Kevin Durant via a sign-and-trade with Golden State in the off-season and signed Kyrie Irving away from the Boston Celtics. Obviously they knew KD wouldn’t suit up this season, but the regression the team has seen both on and off the court has been worrisome. Kyrie Irving’s absences throughout the season have been troubling, as he’s played in just 20 of the team’s 53 games this season. Perhaps the biggest blow to Nets fans is the fact that the team has gone just 8-12 when Irving does play.
This marks the fourth meeting between these teams on the season with the Sixers having won the last two by a combined 15 points.
With that, let’s get into our Sixers-Nets betting preview.
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Here’s the line for the Sixers and Nets at DraftKings Sportsbook PA:
FiveThirtyEight gives the Sixers a 88% chance of winning with a -12.5 point line. The Sixers are the best home team in the NBA with a record of 25-2, while the Nets are a woeful 9-16 on the road. The Sixers have also won their last 11 home games.
With Ben Simmons being a late scratch, the Sixers could wind up having a difficult time initiating their offense. When you combine that with Philly’s elite defense at home (which Simmons is admittedly a large part of), it would appear the under could be a smart play. Additionally, the Nets have seen four of their past five games go under the total points threshold by 8.5, 5, 6, and 32.5 points.
You can get this one at DraftKings Sportsbook by clicking here.
Joel Embiid hasn’t suited up against Brooklyn this season, but one has to imagine that he’ll be well rested and ready to go for the first game post-All-Star break. In 22 games at home this season, Embiid is averaging 22.5 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, which are about in line with his overall averages on the season.
Why is this worth a look? In four regular season matchups against Brooklyn a season ago, he posted 30 points and 14.3 rebounds per game.
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There’s no sugarcoating this: the Al Horford signing has been an abject failure by practically every metric. There are a few reasons to think the big man could rack up a double double tonight. The absence of Ben Simmons should allow Horford to track down a few more rebounds than the 6.8 he’s averaged at Wells Fargo Center and the 7.7 he’s averaged in three previous contests against the Nets. In terms of scoring, Horford’s posted 12.4 points per game at home this season and 14.3 points per game against the Nets.
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Pick: Even though Ben Simmons is out, the Sixers should win this game. Simmons’ absence should allow Embiid to get to the free throw line plenty, while clearing the way for an increase in rebound availability for Embiid and Horford.