NBA: Philadelphia 76ers vs. LA Lakers Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Philadelphia 76ers and the LA Lakers should put up one fine show at the Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night. The 76ers are coming to town with an intention to win, which would keep them in the race for the top seed on the East. On the other side, the Lakers are in limbo, as they can’t pull themselves together to post several good performances in a row. What’s the reason for that, we don’t know, but the purple and gold are looking pretty average these days. As if they don’t have two former NBA MVP winners. 

Preview

Philadelphia 76ers (44-27, -300) started delivering mixed results since the start of March. In the previous nine games, they had five wins and losses, and in the majority of cases, they would be subsequent. After losing to the Raptors, Philly was better than the Miami Heat two nights ago, even though they didn’t have Embiid or Harden available. 

The final result of this event was 113-106 for the Sixers, who had Tyrese Maxey at his best. The young guard scored 28 points with five boards and assists in 28 minutes of play. 

Also, Shake Milton was excellent off the bench with 20 points and six dimes, while Furkan Korkmaz once again reminded everyone that he deserves more attention, adding 18 points and six rebounds. Philly limited the Heat to miserable 34 boards. 

LA Lakers (31-41, +400) won two of the past three events, one in Toronto following an OT, and the most recent in Cleveland, where LeBron faced his old team. The game against the Cavs saw the purple and gold winning 131-120, with LBJ leading the way. 

James had a triple-double with 38 points, 12 assists and 11 boards, 17-for-29 from the field, and was looking powerful, smashing several dunks. One of them was over his friend, Kevin Love. Apparently, King James likes to play against the Cavs, and so far, has just one defeat against his former team. 

DJ Augustin scored 20 points off the bench, with perfect shooting and hitting six threes in six tries. Russell Westbrook scored 20 points and dished 11 assists, while Malik Monk and Stanley Johnson added 12 each. Anthony Davis is recovering from his injury just fine, and he is expected to be ready for the play-in tournament per various sources. 

Head to Head Games

The previous game between these teams was on January 27, and the Sixers recorded a routine triumph over the Lakers, 105-87. Of course, it took place in Philadelphia, that is, Wells Fargo Center. Embiid had 26 points for the hosts, Harris 23. Davis was the top scorer for the guests from LA, having 31 buckets, Westbrook had 20, while James didn’t play. 

Prediction

The guests should play with the best possible team, meaning that both Harden and Embiid are available. Therefore, we don’t have the slightest doubt that the Sixers are going to win at Crypto.com Arena. Why’s that? First of all, their chemistry is way better than the Lakers. No.2, Embiid won’t have worthy rivals, and he will score at least 35 points, exploiting all the mismatches. Overall looking, they are a much better team than the Lakes. 

Pick: 76ers win

Here is the preview for the game between the 76ers and the Lakers.