With one burden lifted and traded away, maybe the Philadelphia 76ers can now concentrate on playing basketball. Ben Simmons never played a game this season but he still impacted the Sixers. When the club came to the realization that he wouldn’t play for them ever again, they started to perform much better on the floor. Now with Simmons gone and James Harden coming over, Philly traded one headache for another. They are playing well with wins in eight of their last 11 games entering the week just behind the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference standings. The teams will square off on Thursday before the NBA breaks for All-Star Weekend.
Thursday’s game will air live on TNT with tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every game on the NBA schedule.
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Odds Analysis
It’s been a chaotic season for the Sixers mainly due to the Simmons saga. And the frustration was evident early in the season. The team made an effort to get the former No. 1 overall pick back on the team, but Simmons didn’t budge and the rest, as they say, is history. It was a rough start with the Sixers swapping wins and losses and playing .500 ball until Christmas. Things changed after the Holiday with a 7-game winning streak giving them some breathing room. Since beating Washington on Dec. 26, the Sixers are 18-6 and find themselves just 2.5 games behind first place Miami in the Eastern Conference standings entering the week. In previous seasons the Sixers have been a strong home team while floundering on the road. That’s changed, though. They actually have a better road record than home ledger so far this season. The Sixers are 18-10 SU and 17-11 ATS in away games.
For the Bucks it’s not about locking down the No. 1 seed in the East and the NBA’s best record. They went that route before and it didn’t work out for them. Instead, they’re more focused on getting through the regular season and playing their best ball when it matters the most. They ended a recent road trip with a Finals rematch against Phoenix and got scorched 131-107 losing key reserve Pat Connaughton to a broken finger. This will be Milwaukee’s third game in four nights ahead of the break with all of them coming at home, and they will have to figure some things out with the roster. Serge Ibaka will be available after his acquisition at the trade deadline. There are open spots, though, with other players dealt away.
Philadelphia 76ers
It turns out that Simmons was holding Joel Embiid back. And now that the big man is free to roam he’s putting up MVP like numbers. And it makes you wonder how the situation with Harden is going to go. We don’t have to worry about that until after the All Star break, though, since Harden is still recovering from his hamstring injury. Opponents know what’s coming and they still can’t stop it. Embiid had a monster game in a win over Cleveland on Saturday with 40 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. It was Philly’s second straight win after the Simmons/Harden trade was announced.
Including the Cavs game, Embiid has scored at least 25 points in 31 straight games. He leads the NBA averaging 29.5 points and ranks among the top-10 with 11.5 rebounds. He even showed off his prowess as a passer with 10 dimes against the Cavs.
Milwaukee Bucks
When the Bucks get rolling on offense they’re unbeatable. They topped 130 points in the first three games of their recent road trip beating Portland and the LA teams. And they are a perfect 18-0 when scoring at least 120 points in a game. They’ve had success when not reaching that number, too. They had a payout win over the Sixers back in November with Giannis Antetokounmpo dropping 31 points in a 118-109 payout victory. The Freak is putting up numbers comparable to Embiid averaging 29 points and 11.2 boards.
Giannis sat out Monday’s game with a sore ankle in what is more of a precautionary move since the Bucks have three games in four nights to start the week. Besides, pitting a former MVP against the guy who is the front runner for the next MVP makes for good TV. And that’s what the league wants.
76ers at Bucks NBA Odds Pick
The Sixers are more than Embiid, which is why they’ve been able to put together a run to close the gap in the East. They did trade away some of their pieces though in Seth Curry and Andre Drummond leaving them shorthanded since Harden won’t be available until after the break. And with Giannis back in the lineup I fully expect the Bucks to make a statement that they aren’t ready to pass the torch just yet.
NBA Odds Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks / UNDER
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