Monday NBA Pick: Philadelphia 76ers at New Orleans Pelicans

Without Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers (38-22) weren’t clicking at all in their last contest.

For the New Orleans Pelicans (27-34), it was the exact opposite in their last game without their big-man Anthony Davis.

Tonight as the two teams meet, we have the losing Pelicans coming in with the edge at first sight — this due to Embiid being out once again for the Sixers, and it’s looking like Davis will be back in the rotation for New Orleans.

Embiid is out due to left knee soreness that he suffered in a 130-115 loss to the Portland TrailBlazers on Saturday. He’s expected to be out another game after tonight’s before he’s back in the starting lineup for Philadelphia.

Also on Saturday, the Pelicans would face off against the Los Angeles Lakers at home where they would rest Davis. They would get the smooth 128-115 win without him.

Two completely different reactions from the ball clubs over the weekend.

Without Embiid, the 76ers took hits on both sides of the ball, but on defense was where it stuck out the most for Philly.

“We made some shots, we missed some shots,” Sixers guard Jimmy Butler commented to Philly.com. “I don’t think offense was a problem. We scored 115. On any given night, that’s enough to win.”

Their rebounding average would also take a hit without Embiid. Philadelphia would only grab down 33 rebounds, while they would allow Portland a whopping +20 margin with an elite 53 boards on their sheet. It included 19 offensive rebounds for the Trail Blazers.

“We just didn’t rebound well enough against a team like this,” 76ers guard Ben Simmons told reporters. “It’s a group effort rebounding. I think just all of us combined, I don’t think we did enough. …

“Obviously, once you have Joel out here you slow the game down a little bit and feed him the ball, you let him do his thing. But it’s obviously different playing without him and trying to find a flow.”

A total of seven Pelicans would score in double digits: Jrue Holiday would tally 27 points, while also hitting two career milestones with his 10,000th career point, as well as grabbing down his 6,000th rebound as a member of New Orleans. Julius Randle would put up 24 points, Cheick Diallo would have himself a second straight double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Ian Clark would add 17 into the mix. Kenrich Williams would also score 11, while Jahlil Okafor had 10. Okafor started in the power forward position for Davis.

“I think you can take all the guys that were involved in the game and at some stage they did something that was really positive for us,” New Orleans head coach Alvin Gentry said to the media.

Okafor, Williams, and Diallo all saw extra playing time due to injuries to Davis, Darius Miller and E’Twaun Moore. Despite all of the injuries, however, the New Orleans bench would still outscore and double Los Angeles’, 42-24.

“Obviously the young guys understand they are trying to establish themselves in the league,” Gentry commented to the press. “These guys understand that the most important thing is our team. They try to do everything they can to help our team.”

Despite just playing a little over 19 minutes the game before against the Indiana Pacers, the Pelicans had Davis on the injury report due to “rest” against the Lakers. The game against Indiana was the first back from the All-Star break, which lasted an entire week.

New Orleans has been decreasing both Davis’ minutes and role since his return from a finger injury, and also in the midst of the drama involving his trade request.

Tip-off between the Philadelphia 76ers (38-22) at New Orleans Pelicans (27-34) is set for 8:00 PM ET, and will be nationally televised on NBATV. New Orleans enters as the -1.5 point favorite over Philadelphia.

INJURY REPORT

PLAYERS TO WATCH

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

• BEN SIMMONS:

Tremendously effective for the Philadelphia 76ers this season, Ben Simmons has been nearly averaging a double-double doing his thing in each scoring, rebounding, and assists. In points production, Simmons is -3 away from the 20 figure averaging 17.0 PPG, and he’s also been hitting a crazy elite 57.0 FG% of his shots from the field. On the boards, Simmons is -1.1 away from the 10-mark sitting with 8.9 RPG. He’s also -2.1 away from the 10-mark in ball movement with his average of 7.9 APG. Simmons also adds 1.3 STLPG.

• TOBIAS HARRIS:

Elton Brand has done a fantastic job of running the Philadelphia 76ers, especially this season. Earlier in the campaign, he would get Jimmy Butler from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Earlier in the month, Brand would then land Tobias Harris and his near double-double from the Los Angeles Clippers. On the scoring end, Harris is over the 20 threshold at 20.8 PPG, and has also hit a near-elite 49.9 FG% of his shots — the 43.0 3PT% sticks out the most. The figure that almost puts him at the double-double mark is his 7.9 RPG average.

NEW ORLEANS PELICANS

• JRUE HOLIDAY:

Very productive in each scoring, assists, and rebounding, Jrue Holiday has been a flat-out beast for the New Orleans Pelicans this season. In the scoring department, he’s been averaging over 21.0 PPG, and has been solid in the shooting department with a field goal percentage of 47.1 FG%. In the assist market, Holiday is just -2.1 tallies away from averaging a double-double with 7.9 APG. On the rebounding end, Holiday has hit over the five mark at 5.1 RPG. He’s also doing his thing on the defensive side with a number of 1.6 STLPG.

• KJULIUS RANDLE:

The four-year veteran has been great this year for the Pelicans, averaging near a double-double in points and rebounds to have him a flashy 21.40 PER. On the offensive side of the ball, Randle has hit over the 20-mark averaging 20.1 PPG, and the shooting has been elite as well over the 50 threshold at 53.9 FG%. The big-man can also score from behind the arc too with his tally of 35.0 3PT%. In the rebounding game, Randle is just -1.1 away from a double-double with his average of 8.9 RPG. Randle also brings 3.0 APG to the table.

CHECK THE NUMBERS

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS:

Out of the four main line statistical categories (points-per-game, points against, field goal percentage, rebounds-per-game), the 38-22 Philadelphia 76ers just take one of them away from the 27-34 New Orleans Pelicans. In scoring, both clubs line up dead-even with a 115.7 PPG average, however, Philadelphia enters into the red with a slim -0.3 disadvantage at 47.5 FG%. On the rebounding end, they also take a hit, but it’s also very tight at -0.2 with 46.8 RPG. On the defensive side, they make up for it a bit: +3 with 112.3 PA.

NEW ORLEANS PELICANS:

The New Orleans Pelicans enter tonight as the favorite, and it’s understandable why: They take two of the four main line statistical categories, and they also have homecourt advantage facing a Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers. On the scoring end, they lineup identically at 115.7 PPG, and they enter into the green at +0.3 hitting 47.8 FG%. On the battle on the boards, the Pelicans have another positive, but it’s also a slight +0.2 grip at 47.0 RPG. On the defensive end, however, they take a -3 hit allowing 115.0 PPG past them.

POWELL’S PREDICTION

THE BREAKDOWN: With the Philadelphia 76ers being on the road tonight and being without their big-man Joel Embiid (who they’ve been struggling without), expect tonight’s contest to be a blatant war — especially with the New Orleans Pelicans having Anthony Davis back tonight. The question for Davis though is: How long will the Pelicans play him? Remember, they’re not trying to have him active too much due to risking injury, which then would hurt trade value. With that being said, tonight’s contest will be a very interesting one. Both sides come in with no clear advantage overall, so expect a tight one.

At home this season, New Orleans has a winning record, but it hasn’t been the most elite at 18-11. For the Philadelphia 76ers, however, they only come in with a .500 14-14 record on the road — something that the Pelicans can take advantage of, especially with the Sixers not having Embiid tonight. The favorite/underdog record of the two clubs are interesting: As a favorite, New Orleans comes in with a winning 18-12 record, yeah, but like they’re home record, it shows a lot of vulnerability. But here’s another record that the Pelicans could take advantage of: The 7-9 losing figure that the 76ers have as an underdog. Against the spread, both teams come in with nearly identical numbers, so that aspect of the game shouldn’t mean much tonight. New Orleans is 29-31-1 ATS, while Philadelphia is 28-32 ATS. (The Pelicans are 15-14 ATS Home, and the Sixers are 12-16 ATS Away) Here’s another sign of a dead-even matchup tonight as well: In their last 10 games against one another, each team brings in a 5-5 record — obviously, a tie.

With the New Orleans Pelicans having Anthony Davis tonight, but probably for a limited time, and the Philadelphia 76ers having the overhaul in talent as a result, you have to give the edge to the Sixers — but an extraordinarily small one. Remember, they’re on the road tonight and only carry one set of the numbers. And did I mention they’re without their superstar Joel Embiid tonight? With the circumstances being what they are, take the Sixers in a full-out war. The battle between Ben Simmons and Jrue Holiday may be an NBA-edition of ‘Call of Duty’ with the shootout that we might have tonight. You have to take Simmons in that.

PREDICTION: Philadelphia 76ers: 115, New Orleans Pelicans: 112