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The Sixers are a +220 Series Underdog as Entire ESPN Panel Picks Knicks
Published:
They don’t believe in the Sixers:
No surprises. The Knicks are the three seed. They won 53 games this year, eliminated the Sixers in 2024, and are coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. They just smoked the Hawks three times in a row after going down 2-1 in that series. Their rat bastard fans will descend upon Xfinity Mobile Arena as Jalen Brunson seeks contact in the pick and roll. It’s gonna be a difficult one for the Sixers if they want to get past the 2nd round for the first time since 2001.
This amounts to a +220 series line for the Sixers, who are naturally underdogs and playing without home court advantage. At Kalshi, it’s logged as a 30% chance to win the series:
Thing is, the Sixers were a dog against Boston as well, and while they opened the series without Joel Embiid, they weren’t favored in any of the four games he played when he did return. So that’s why you can make a case for throwing out the records and throwing out the odds, or, even better, getting the Sixers at a good underdog price. Embiid looked good in his last three games. He and the rest of the group finally exorcised the Celtic demons. That’s gotta do something for you mentally, a confidence boost to defeat the bogeyman and finally get over that hump. It’s difficult to go right up to Madison Square Garden 48 hours after a Game 7 in Boston, but maybe you can bring some momentum with you into Game 1on Monday night.
The Sixers weren’t supposed to beat the Celtics. They were down 3-1 in the series. But they found a way to win.
WHAT IS DEAD MAY NEVER DIE
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com