The Philadelphia 76ers seemed to be past the rebuilding process early in the year when they got off to a fast start. A losing streak has brought them back down to earth, and they will aim to get back on track in a home matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder this week.
The 76ers are 14-13 on the season, which is a vast improvement on how they have looked for the past several years but down from a 13-9 start to the year. They are just outside the playoff race early on in the season but seem to have enough firepower to compete for a postseason berth in the East.
The Thunder is also surprisingly outside of the top eight seeds currently in the West, which is problematic considering the team hoped to be a contender this season. Two marquee additions haven’t turned out as hoped quite yet as the trio of Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony needs to jell quickly if the Thunder plan on being a contender in the West.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, December 15, 2017, at 7 p.m. ET at Well Fargo Center Philadelphia. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Friday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The 76ers are 14-13 on the season and 16-10-1 against the spread. They have played 13 home games this season and covered in eight of them as they have generally outperformed expectations.
The Thunder has been the opposite. Oklahoma City is 12-14 overall and an ugly 8-18 against the spread. The oddsmakers thought they would be among the better teams in the NBA this year and early on they have been anything but that. Oklahoma City has only covered twice in 13 road games this season.
Key Stat
3. That’s the number of wins the Thunder has on the road this year in 13 chances. The team has a better point-differential than several others ahead of it in the standings, which portends better things ahead, but that won’t matter if Oklahoma City can’t pick up its level of play on the road.
Oklahoma City is getting another fantastic season out of Russell Westbrook. He is averaging 23.0 points, 9.8 assists and 9.1 rebounds per game a season after averaging a triple-double. Paul George and Carmelo Anthony have put up decent running totals but haven’t been quite the stars expected.
George is averaging 20.6 points and 2.4 steals per game, while Anthony is adding 18.0 points and 6.4 rebounds. The problem is the trio’s shooting percentages. Westbrook is hitting only 39.6 percent from the field, George 41.8 percent and Anthony 40.4 percent. The players are too talented to settle for contested shots and need to become more efficient.
Player To Watch
Ben Simmons -- The 76ers’ lanky point guard has made an immediate impact after his rookie season was sidetracked by an injury. He is averaging 18.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists per contest, big-time numbers for such a young and inexperienced player.
Simmons figures to just get better and better as his career moves forward and he reaches his physical peak. He is shooting 50.7 percent from the field and is showing why he is a former No. 1 overall pick.
Simmons has coupled with Joel Embiid as a pair of potential superstars in Philadelphia. The plan was to find talent like these, which is why the 76ers were intentionally awful recently, and it seems to be coming to fruition.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Thunder have the more established stars but at this point, Embiid and Simmons are both better players than Anthony and George. The X-Factor is Westbrook. He has to take more of a leading role and try to dominate this game.
Philadelphia is going to have a really tough time keeping him in check, so the Thunder should stay close. However, this is a new era for the 76ers and they are going to prove it once again in this one. Take Philadelphia to capture the victory at home.
NBA Odds: 76ers 104, Thunder 101
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