I hope the Philadelphia 76ers enjoyed their week off, because the NBA schedule makers did them absolutely no favors to start the post-All-Star slate.

The Sixers play a four-game gauntlet against the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Boston Celtics from Thursday to Tuesday The four-game run starts with a home matchup in which the Sixers are a very slight one-point favorite.

New York has been the media darling in the Eastern Conference of late because the Knicks made moves to improve the roster, but they limp into the Wells Fargo Center without OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson.

You know this by now, and it’s going to be driven home at “Mike Trout grew up in Millville” levels of annoying tonight, but Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, and Jalen Brunson, the “Nova Knicks,” are playing back in the area they went to college.

Brunson and DiVincenzo performed well at Wells Fargo Center in their recent histories. Brunson scored 24, 23, 30, and 29 in last four games in Philadelphia. DiVincenzo notched point totals of 20, 17, and 14 in his last three Philly appearances. Hart had 10 points and 15 rebounds in the Knicks’ blowout win in Philly on January 5th.

The Knicks need all three players to thrive on Thursday to get back on track. They lost four in a row and five of six before the ASG break, a product of missing two starters.

The Sixers have had their injury issues as well. De’Anthony Melton and Robert Covington are still out along with Joel Embiid. Nicolas Batum is listed as questionable, so there will be a heavy reliance on the starting group.

Tyrese Maxey’s point prop is set at 26.5 at FanDuel and DraftKings. That’s the second-highest point total behind Brunson’s 29.5.

As you scroll through Pennsylvania sports betting apps and NJ sports betting apps, the best way to attack Maxey’s props may be from the three-point line. The Knicks gave up at least 10 threes to every opponent during their four-game losing run.

Maxey put up 19 three-point attempts in the three games he played alongside Buddy Hield, so even though his threes prop is down to 2.5, it might be worth going after.

Speaking of Hield, he’s been a stat filler since coming over from the Pacers. He knocked down at least four threes and eclipsed the 20-point mark in each of his four games as a Sixer. He’s also had at least six assists in every game and four rebounds in three of those four. Hield’s props are set at 17.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.5 threes.

As for the game lines, the best approach, at least for tonight, is to attack the spread and total from a live perspective. The Sixers were down 15 in their first game out of the ASG break last season and came back to beat Memphis. The Knicks were down 11 to Washington after a quarter in their first post-ASG game last year