Call Game 3 whatever you want, must-win, can’t-lose, but the expectation is the Philadelphia 76ers get on the board against the New York Knicks. The Sixers are a 5.5-point favorite at home on Pennsylvania sports betting apps, which is the same number the Knicks were favored by for Game 2 at Madison Square Garden.

I wrote in detail yesterday about the value on the series prices from spread to money line to player props if you want to check out a broader view of the first-round matchup. As for the Game 3 odds, the Sixers are reasonably priced on their home floor. The over/under of 204 is adjusted down from Game 2 because Monday’s matchup featured 205 total points.

It’s pretty obvious that Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid need to play at superstar levels for the Sixers to win, but they also need help from the role players. Maxey’s points over/under sits at 26.5 points, while Embiid is at 32.5 points. Maxey is the more favorable betting option because he scored over 30 points in Games 1 and 2 and is not in noticeable pain every time he runs.

The other Maxey angle I would take is first-quarter points. DraftKings lists that prop at 5.5 points with the over at plus money. He scored seven and nine 1Q points in Games 1 and 2. I have to think Maxey gets involved in the scoring early and often.

A red-hot Maxey and a functional Embiid are expected, but what can we expect of the role players? Tobias Harris, Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry and Nicolas Batum are the reasonable betting targets. Sure, Buddy Hield could go off, but he’s only played 24 minutes in the series. As a personal aside, I still think Harris has something to offer and will go off at one point in the series. Game 3 with a point prop of 10.5 is the perfect spot for that in my eyes, but I know a majority of you reading this are already waiting outside his residence to pack Tobi’s bags for him at the end of the playoffs. I would at least look to the over on Harris’ rebound prop at 7.5. He had nine boards in each game against the Knicks, and if Joel is still hampered by his knee, someone else has to attack the glass.

Oubre also needs to step up in both the scoring and rebounding departments. His points prop sits at 10.5 and rebounds prop at 4.5. He has a grand total of 14 points and five rebounds in the series. The other Oubre angle I would take is his steals/blocks (or stocks as we call it in the biz) at over 2.5 on DK. Oubre had five steals and one block in Game 1 and three blocks in Game 2. And then there’s Lowry and Batum with single-digit point props. Lowry sits at 7.5 and Batum is at 4.5. I would take the over on both. Lowry scored 26 points in the first two games and Batum has played the most minutes off the bench.

If you haven’t caught on yet, I’m literally sitting at my computer shouting “WILL SOMEONE PLEASE STEP UP FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I WANT TO SEE THE SIXERS WIN A PLAYOFF GAME.”

If the Sixers do lose and no one steps up, I’ll just spend the next 48 hours breaking down why our Lord and Savior Howie Roseman won the NFL draft.