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

The Brooklyn Nets at the Philadelphia 76ers is one of the most anticipated matchups of the entire year. These two sides are among the top contenders for winning the title and have megastars, plus, they’ve recently swapped a few players, most notable among them, James Harden and Ben Simmons. While the Beard plays for the 76ers and is already the leader of the team alongside Joel Embiid, Simmons still didn’t make a debut for the Nets. There were some rumors that he might appear at the Wells Fargo Center, but they are unconfirmed right now.

Preview

Brooklyn Nets (33-33, +150) come to Philly following a win in Charlotte, and Kyrie Irving’s magnificent performance. The victory over the franchise from North Carolina snapped a four-game losing streak, and is a great boost of morale for the Nets.

As said, Kyrie was superb with 50 buckets, shooting 15-for-19 from the field, while hitting nine threes in 12 tries and missing only two of his 13 free-throw shots. Uncle Drew would have six assists as well, all that in 38 minutes on the floor.

The next best thing for the Nets on the court was Andre Drummond with 20 points and 14 boards, while Bruce Brown and Kevin Durant scored 14 points each. The Nets would drop 15 threes in 36 attempts and have 56.1% percent of shooting from the field.

Philadelphia 76ers (40-24, -200) lost only one game since the All-Star break, which was in Miami against the Heat, but we need to say that the 76ers didn’t have James Harden ready for that one. Following that defeat, they would quickly bounce back, rolling over the Chicago Bulls, 121-106, and showing their true potential.

Embiid was superb as usual with 43 points and 14 boards, and three blocks, while shooting 15-for-27 from the field and 12-for-16 from the foul line. Harden wasn’t in the mood for scoring, but he covered that with a strong contribution in all the other areas of play. The Beard had 16 points with 14 boards and eight assists.

As for other guys among the Sixers, Tyrese Maxey was solid with 17 points, Georges Niang had 14, while Matisse Thybulle ended the night with 14 buckets. The hosts limited the Bulls to only eight threes, which ended up being a big factor in this clash.

Head to Head

The big East Coast rivals played three times this year, and the Nets won the opening two battles, while the 76ers took the last one. After beating them in Philly 114-109, the Nets were more successful at home, 114-105. The game no.3 was also in Brooklyn, but the 76ers ended up on the winning side this time, 110-102.

Prediction

This game will be fun to watch for so many reasons. The first one is Harden’s behavior against the former teammates and the entire situation considering the Beard. The second is that these two units present arguably the biggest favorites for the East title along with the Bucks. Our pick is over 222.5 points, as both teams play solid on the offensive side lately, and all of their top players have favorable matchups on the floor.

Pick: Over 222.5 points -110

Here is the preview for the Warriors vs. Nuggets game.