A couple of old Eastern Conference foes square off tonight at Madison Square Garden as the Philadelphia 76ers take on the New York Knicks. Both teams are battling with injuries right now, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t expect an intense encounter here. I’ve analyzed the game in-depth and came up with a Same Game Parlay which you can find below.
For predictions on the side and total for the rest of Sunday’s 9-game slate simply visit our NBA Picks page.
Let’s dive into my SGP bet now!
Tyrese Maxey not playing here makes all the difference for the Philadelphia 76ers and especially Tobias Harris who automatically becomes the number one scoring option. That’s a huge responsibility for any player, but the seasoned veteran is no stranger to having to carry a team on his own. For the month of March he’s averaging 21.2 points per game, that number would have been even higher if it wasn’t for the sub par performance vs Memphis where he had just 8 points. His shot attempts are up from 14.3 per game in February to 17 per game this month, which just further illustrates the increase of his role in Embiid’s and Maxey’s absence. In the 5 games played this month he is at 51.8% shooting from the field and a respectable 38.5% from downtown. The Knicks were able to limit him in both meetings so far this season, but circumstances have changed I think with the volume of shots he will get here, Harris should have a productive game.
Another player who is expected to provide a spark for the injury depleted Sixers team is Buddy Hield. Similarly to Harris, he too struggled in the loss to the Pelicans the other day, but one poor performance shouldn’t undo all the positives he’s brough to this team since being acquired in the trade with Indiana. Over his last 10 games Hield is averaging 12.6 points per game, he is the team’s 3rd most efficient shooter from the perimeter at 40.6%. In 13 games with Philadelphia he has cleared this line a total of 10 times. He also has a solid track record in head-to-head meetings with the Knicks, knocking down 4 threes in the game played against them on February 22nd. That was the 7th time in 10 games against them he was able to score 3 threes. Without a good game from Hield, I’m afraid the Sixers won’t go far in this game.
DiVincenzo has elevated himself to being the 2nd highest scorer on the Knicks, at least until Julius Randle and OG Anunoby come back. He’s averaging 19 points per game over his last 9 outings and I’m expecting him to continue his solid run tonight against the 76ers. There’s something about match-up up with Philly that suits him, in the 2 meetings this season he’s averaging 15 points per game with his efficiency going way up to 47.6% from the field and 47.1% from downtown. I really doubt that an aging Kyle Lowry or a sub-par defender like Buddy Hield or Kelly Oubre Jr. will be able to stop him here, he’s made at least 4 threes in 3 of his last 4 games against the 76ers. Philadelphia’s defense has been all over the place lately, opponents are averaging 36.7% of made threes against them in their last 3 games. Let’s hope DiVincenzo can make the most out of that here.
