Sixers vs. Thunder Betting Odds, Picks, Prediction (February 11, 2022)
On Friday night, the Sixers will play the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game that will be overshadowed by off-the-court events in a way Sixers fans haven’t seen since, perhaps, Jimmy Butler’s arrival in Philadelphia. The Sixers finally rid themselves of wantaway failson Ben Simmons in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets that made James Harden a Sixer. At 32-22, the Sixers have 28 games to break out of the logjam at the top of the Eastern Conference standings and put themselves in the best possible playoff seed. The Thunder have no such problems; at 17-37, the Thunder are dead men walking, two and a half games above the bottom of the Western Conference.
Let’s get into our Sixers vs. Thunder betting pick with player prop predictions, odds, and analysis for this February 11, 2022 matchup.
Sixers vs. Thunder Pick (February 11, 2022)
Some romantic relationships have permanent promise from the outset. Conversely, some romantic relationships are all about the sex from moment one, with both partners knowing without saying so that the relationship doesn’t have much of a future, but the physical chemistry in this moment is undeniable. So let’s be clear: The Sixers didn’t marry James Harden by trading for him. and Harden didn’t say “I do” to the Sixers by agreeing to be traded here.
Harden will turn 33 years old this summer and has a lot of miles on the odometer. He has played 921 NBA regular season games and 137 playoff games. (It’s weird how often people overlook the playoff games in analyzing the wear and tear on a player. Arguably, because the stakes are so much higher and the games are so much more physical, playoff games should be weighted in terms of the toll they take). Harden’s arrival in Philadelphia places him on his fourth team. The Sixers shouldn’t care much about his departures form Oklahoma City and Houston. Harden was traded away by OKC, and played eight full seasons for the Rockets. Those aren’t the marks of a problem employee.
This departure from Brooklyn, though…not great. Harden essentially engineered his placement with the Nets early in the 2020-2021 season under the auspices of forming a “super-team” with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. In the end, those three only played 16 games together. The Nets have had a wildly erratic season, compromised primarily by Irving’s aversion to the COVID-19 vaccine and Durant’s January MCL sprain. The Nets had lost nine games in a row when they pulled the trigger on this Harden trade, and they lost again last night. Harden certainly saw the ship going down and, as he did in leaving Houston, looked for the nearest exit rather than grabbing a bucket and trying to bail the rising water out.
As of this writing, it is not clear that Harden agreed to exercise his 2022-2023 player option for next season as part of the trade. If he didn’t, that means he has committed to be a Sixer for exactly one playoff run. After that, who can say? Harden will have nearly unlimited control over where he plays. Whether the Sixers can convince Harden to stay another year, or sign an extension, however it shakes out the Sixers are counting on Harden to help them win a championship or come damn close in the time that he’s here. But that time might be really, really short.
And that’s OK! Short-term relationships premised on quick heat and mutual need and convenient attraction are a lot of fun! (So I’ve heard, anyway.) Every dalliance you enter into doesn’t have to be for keeps. And Sixers fans, having been rejected so cruelly by Simmons, are due for some gratification. Let’s enjoy it while it lasts. These sorts of high intensity, low commitment flings can be, um, hard to come by.
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Sixers vs. Thunder Odds
Here’s the line for the Sixers and Thunder at FanDuel Sportsbook:
- Point Spread: Sixers -12 (-114), Thunder +12 (-106)
- Moneyline: Sixers -610, Thunder +900
- Total: 206
Bets We Like With a Sixers Win
Sixers to Win and Over 206 Total Points (+115, FanDuel Sportsbook)
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This total looks like this because the Thunder are the worst team in the NBA at scoring points. They average 100.9 points per game, which must be frustrating for them because they’re actually a decent defensive team (107.6 points per game against, 12th in the league). We like the over here, though, because the energy around the Sixers projects to be very high even if Harden isn’t in uniform tonight.
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Bets We Like Independent of Outcome
Joel Embiid Under 33.5 Points (-120, Caesars Sportsbook)
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We just can’t stay away from the Embiid points prop, no matter how many times it burns us. Tonight, we’re playing the under because 33.5 is a really high total, because the Thunder are very bad and so Embiid may not even play 33 minutes, and because the Sixers have to be thinking about protecting Embiid’s legs for tomorrow night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team the Sixers are chasing in the standings.
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Tobias Harris Over 20.5 Points (+100, DraftKings Sportsbook)
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Is Harris the most relieved man in Philadelphia today? Maybe. Harden’s arrival instantly makes Harris, at best, the third offensive option on the team, and there is a compelling argument that Tyrese Maxey’s emergence actually makes Harris the fourth banana. As for tonight, though, Harden isn’t playing and Maxey is questionable with a hamstring strain. Harris generally beats up on weak opposition, and given the minutes he’s likely to get tonight against the Thunder, this point prop is too low.
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Darius Bazley Two or More Three-Point Field Goals Made (+150, FOX Bet)
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Bazley is listed as a power forward on basketball-reference.com, but at 6’8″ and 208 pounds, he lacks the heft to bang. That leaves him taking more three-pointers than you might expect — 23 in his last six games, with ten makes. There is going to be some garbage time tonight, which is when we figure Bazley will hit a second triple and cash this prop.
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Sixers vs. Thunder Prediction
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Twelve points is just too many to lay with the Sixers tonight. They will be shorthanded, and head coach Doc Rivers struggled with rotations when he had a more or less full bench. It promises to get weird at points tonight, especially in the second quarter when the starters get their rest. It’ll be a heavy dose of Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle, Isaiah Joe and the like. So no, we’re not laying 12 here. We’re sticking with the money line and the over, which we liked above for the reasons set forth.
Pick: Sixers moneyline and over 206 (+108, Barstool Sportsbook)
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