The Philadelphia 76ers travel to Ohio to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday night.
The Sixers are dealing with the loss of Ben Simmons to a back injury. But after getting beaten by the Milwaukee Bucks last weekend, the Sixers bounced back with a trouncing of the Atlanta Hawks behind Joel Embiid’s career night. On the other hand, the Cavs have won three out of their last four games played. Cleveland is coming off a come-from-behind win over the Miami Heat in their last outing. The Cavs came back from a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit to win the game in overtime. The Sixers are one win away from sweeping their four-game season series against the Cavs.
The Philadelphia 76ers trounced the Atlanta Hawks 129-112 on Monday night with Joel Embiid taking over in the fourth quarter while delivering a career-best scoring performance. The win was Philly’s fifth in their last six games played with their only loss during that period coming at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Embiid shot 17-24 from the floor and sank 14 out of 15 free throws to finish with a career-high 49 points along with 14 rebounds. Tobias Harris added 25 points for the Sixers who played minus Ben Simmons who is out indefinitely with a back injury. Furkan Korkmaz scored 15 points off the bench while Al Horford returned to the starting unit after coming off the bench in his last three games played.
The Sixers are 22nd in the league in scoring at 108.9 points per game. They are 8th in passing at 25.8 assists per contest and are 9th in rebounding at 45.9 boards grabbed per contest. Philadelphia has the third-best scoring defense in the league at only 106.5 points per game allowed.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have won three out of their last four games played. In their last outing, the Cavs overcame a 22-point 3rd quarter deficit to beat the Miami Heat 125-119 in overtime. The Cavs outscored the Heat 31-12 in the fourth quarter to force an extra period then leaned on rookies Kevin Porter and Darius Garland to seal the victory.
Porter scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Cavs while Kevin Love had 17 points and 14 rebounds. Larry Nance Jr. added 16 points and Tristan Thompson chipped in 15. Darius Garland led the team with seven assists while also scoring 14 points as seven players scored in double figures for Cleveland.
The Cavs rank 25th in scoring at 106.6 points per game this season. They are 19th in rebounding at 44.5 boards grabbed per contest and are 25th in passing at 22.5 assists per game. Cleveland has the 7th worst scoring defense in the NBA this season at 115.1 points per game allowed.
Philadelphia is 5-1 SU in their last six games played. The Sixers are 0-5 SU in their last five games played on the road. Cleveland is 4-14 SU in their last 18 games played. The Cavaliers are 2-12 SU in their last 14 games played at home. Head to head, the Sixers are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played against the Cavaliers. The Cavs are 8-3 SU in their last 11 home games against the Sixers.
Philly will be without Ben Simmons here as he is expected to miss multiple games with a back injury. Joel Embiid is coming off a career-best 49 points against the Hawks and he will be the one to lead the Sixers again in this game. However, the Sixers have lost six in a row on the road.
The Cavs have won three out of their last four assignments and they are coming off a big win over the Miami Heat. Cleveland outscored the Heat 31-12 in the final quarter to force an extra period. That shows that this team is still here to compete despite already being out of playoff contention.
Philly has struggled to win on the road but this is a very winnable game for them. The Cavs are just 8-22 SU at home and the Sixers have beaten Cleveland in their first three meetings of the season. I expect Philadelphia to sweep their season series against the Cavaliers.
PREDICTION: PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
The Sixers are 4-2 ATS in their last six games played. Philadelphia is 0-5 ATS in their last five games played on the road, and 2-7 ATS in their last nine games played against the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers are 4-2 ATS in their last six games played. Cleveland is 3-4 ATS in their last seven games played at home, and 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games played against the Atlantic Division. Head to head, the Cavaliers are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Sixers.
The Sixers are one of the best home teams in the league but are only 9-29 SU and 8-20-1 ATS on the road this season. Even without Simmons, the Sixers are a very good team with Embiid leading the way. The Process is coming off a career night against the Hawks and I think he will continue to play well in his partner’s absence. Drummond will give a good challenge but I think the Sixers are covering the spread here as long as it’s not a double-digit margin.
PREDICTION: SIXERS -7.5
The total has gone over in four out of the last six games played by the Sixers. The under is 3-2 in Philadelphia’s last five games played on the road. The total has gone over in nine out of the last 13 games played by the Cavaliers. The over is 5-2 in Cleveland’s last seven games played at home, and 11-3 in their last 14 games played against the Eastern Conference. Head to head, the under is 6-4 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams.
The Sixers just put up 129 points against the worst defense in the league in Atlanta. With Cleveland at the same level defensively, at 24th overall, I think that the Sixers can score just as much against the Cavs. The Cavs rank last in field goal percentage allowed and are fourth from the bottom in three-point field goal percentage allowed. With the Cavs playing better as of late, I expect these teams to play to the over.
PREDICTION: OVER 220
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