Philadelphia at Atlanta
Time: 6:30 PM CT (NBA LP)
Spread: PHI -9.5
Total: 219.5
Odds c/o 5dimes
76ers
The Sixers are tuning up for the first playoff matchup since “The Process” began some five years ago. Philly is currently seeded No. 4 in the East.
Moving up is imperative for Philly, in hopes to avoid a first-round clash with either Toronto or Boston. As tight as the Eastern Conference standings are, Philly can radically improve its draw by closing this season strong, and all indications are that it will do just that. If the playoffs began today, the Sixers would face the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The 76ers have knocked off the Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans, and L.A. Clippers in its past three games, winning all of the games by 13 points or more with an average margin of victory of 14.6 points. Its most recent win was a 112-98 win over the Clippers, as the Sixers had a late run to rally past the new look Clippers.
Second-year sensation Joel Embiid had 29 points and tied his career high with 16 rebounds. Ben Simmons had a double-double again with 14 points and 10 assists. Simmons is averaging 7.3 assists per game this season, and over his past 10 games, he has notched 7.7 assists along with 7.1 rebounds and 17.1 points. He has two double-doubles in his last five games and is in a neck-and-neck race with Utah’s Donovan Mitchell for the Rookie of the Year honor. Embiid is recovering from surgery to repair a broken orbital bone, and it is unknown whether he will be ready for the first round of the playoffs.
The Sixers are focused on bigger things than the award (like Embiid’s health and its seeding), especially after Embiid was (perhaps rightfully) snubbed for the award a year ago, mainly because he only played 32 games last season. Embiid has the makings of a true franchise player if he can remain healthy, and thus far this season he has. He has recently been cleared to play in back-to-back games, and the Sixers can also be thankful the postseason has no back-to-backs. Embiid is averaging 23.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.5 blocks/steals per game in 31 minutes a night in his 43 appearances. He will be an All-Star this year in just his second season.
ATL
The Hawks do have one thing going for it: The strong play of point guard Dennis Schroeder. The German has had a strong season with 19.4 points, 6.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 51 starts, but outside of his play, the Hawks are mostly a collection of discarded role players serving hardly a role on a Hawks team without much direction or promise.
Atlanta is one of many teams that could be very active as this trade deadline approaches, and it will hope that it can get some return on the capable veterans that simply are toiling away on a roster awaiting some real star power. Taurean Prince and John Collins could both be very good pros in due time, but for the remaining days, the Hawks are relying on talents which have absolutely reached their ceiling, the likes of Kent Bazemore, Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova. Even starting center Dewayne Dedmon is likely near his ceiling as an NBA player. That aforementioned quartet could serve as fine rotation players on a contending team, though, and if Atlanta is savvy it could build some real assets heading into the offseason.
No matter the takeaways about these two teams, neither has much of a real incentive to win tonight’s game, and it could be a really ugly display of the game of basketball…
