NBA: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Brooklyn Nets Preview, Odds, Predicition

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets highlight tonight’s NBA program. Before the season started, these two sides had been the top favorites for winning the Eastern Conference. At the moment, the 76ers are far, far away from the top of the East, barely above the .500-mark. On the other side, the Nets are atop the standings, but aren’t particularly convincing. So far, they’ve been suffering defeats to all of the top rivals for the NBA title. And that frustrates their fanbase pretty much.

Preview

Philadelphia 76ers (15-14, -105) were massive favorites against the Miami Heat last night, but they ended up losing. The guest from Florida were without several of their top stars, while Philly lacked only Seth Curry. The final result was 101-96 for Erik Spoelstra’s crew.

Surprisingly, the 76ers have been outrebounded by the Heat, 44-35. It was expected to see Joel Embiid dominating the paint with Bam Adebayo out, yet that didn’t happen. The Process scored only 17 points and had 14 boards while shooting 5-for-13 and assisting five times.

Tobias Harris poured 24 buckets, having five boards and four assists, while Tyrese Maxey had another very good performance, dropping a team-high of 27 points while missing only four of his 15 field goal attempts. The problem for Doc Rivers’ crew was the miserable productivity of the non-starters, who combined for only 21 points.

Brooklyn Nets (20-8, -115) have several players who are out due to COVID-19 issues. Among them are James Harden and LaMarcus Aldridge, two very important guys for Steve Nash. Once mentioning Harden, his name is in trade talks once again. And guess what, in the same sentence with the 76ers and Ben Simmons.

Meanwhile, the Nets are on a three-game winning streak, beating the Hawks, Pistons, and the Raptors one after another. The contest against the Raptors was highly competitive, and the Nets won after an OT, 131-129.

Durant had a triple-double, 34 points, 13 boards, and 11 assists, Patty Mills scored 30 buckets, while Kessler Edwards added 17 off the bench. Nic Claxton scored 16, shooting 8-for-10 from the field. Brooklyn had the advantage on the glass, securing 60 boards, 19 more than the guests from Canada. And to be honest, that surprised us given how many absent players Nets had.

Head to Head Games

The season’s first meeting took place in Philadelphia, and the Nets won the clash, 114-109. Kevin Durant had a triple-double, 29 points, 15 boards, and 12 assists. Harden added 20 with eight assists and seven boards. LaMarcus Aldridge was excellent off the bench, 23 points off the bench, 10-for-12. Tobias Harris and Seth Curry scored 23 for the hosts, and Joel Embiid 19.

Prediction

Philadelphia played last night and knowing their (Embiid’s) problems with load management, this could be a very difficult matchup for them. On the other side, the Nets are shredded with injuries, but they still have KD and Patty Mills, who knows to find his way around lately. Also, they had more time to recover from the previous appearance and play at home, which is why we bet on their win. The odds on that are -115, which is OK.

Pick: Nets Win