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Feast on East’s Least

That headline is the recipe for 76er success this NBA season. Whatever else happens, they should beat the bad teams. On Sunday, the inconsistent Sixers overcame the Cavs, 114-95. Philadelphia did what good playoff-bound teams do, and blasted a lottery-bound squad. They also got a road win, after losing five straight away from Philly. There was no need for last-second heroics, like Joel Embiid’s winning dunk in their previous victory over Cleveland. No, this time around, they built an early lead and kept it. Six players scored in double figures, led by Tobias Harris’ 27 points. This is the way it’s done. Just rinse and repeat.

NBA Game Preview – Knicks @ 76ers

Thu. 11/20 at 7:00 PM

The Knicks just beat the Cavs by 18 points – one less than the Sixers did. This, after beating the Dallas Mavericks twice. They also lost by one to the Charlotte Hornets, and by only two to the Celtics in Boston. This is not a pushover squad. But they are a dysfunctional one. The Cavs win came a week after New York’s bad loss to Cleveland prompted a now-infamous press conference by team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry. That session made clear that coach David Fizdale’s job is threatened. 

New York has the 28th-ranked offensive rating in the NBA and the 19th-ranked defensive rating. Philly ranks ahead in both, at 19 and 10, respectively. They are even closer in the team rebounding category, with Philly ranked 9th, while New York is 11th. Hell, the Knicks lead the league in offensive rebounding. However, the Knicks are dead last in field goal percentage, while the Sixers rank third. And even though their 4.7%- difference in that category might not seem like a lot, it’s a massive disparity that shows in their win-loss records. Bad shooting means the Knicks are last in the NBA in points-per-game, with 101.8.

The Pick:

The Sixers are 4-0 at home so far this season. They face a 4-10 Knicks team who just pumped in 54 points in the paint against the Cavs. Scoring from up close is the go-to approach if you’re the worst-shooting squad in the league. However, New York stacked up those interior scores against a Cleveland team that was without Kevin Love. Tonight, the will face Joel Embiid and Al Horford inside. That will limit the up-close results for New York’s leading scorers Marcus Morris and Julius Randle. I’m taking the Sixers to win as 12-point favorites tonight.

 

Where to bet this:

Unibet and Sugarhouse currently have the best odds, with Philadelphia as 12-point favorites for a payout of -110 ($110 wins $100). PointsBet, meanwhile, has the line at 12.5 points, also with a -110 payout.

Top Player Prop:

Despite playing plenty of minutes, Knicks PG Frank Ntilikina hasn’t scored more than 6 points in six games. He has a passing-and-defense mentality that hurts his scoring numbers. So, I’m betting the trend continues, and taking a Unibet wager of +125 ($100 wins $125) that Ntilikina scores less than 6.5 points tonight.

 

Bonus Alert:

$20 For Free – Do you like betting on sports with free money? Then Unibet has the promo for you. Just register for an account, and they will give you two free $10 bets. Period. No Deposit. That’s it. Create an account, and you get $20 to bet with right away.

Parlay Boosts Unibet is featuring boosted payouts on parlays, in the form of 10, 20 and 30 percent virtual coupons that players can use each week. The boosts are automatically applied to 3, 4 and 5-leg parlays respectively, and players can claim one of each boost every week. Just select 3, 4 or 5 bets for a parlay, all with odds greater than -500. Then click “bonus offers” in the drop down menu to choose the 10%, 20% or 30% boost.

Make it Rain: Tobias Harris is emerging from a recent stretch of 0-23 from three-point territory. He is 4-6 from long range over the last two games. He’s also one of five Sixers who are averaging at least four three-pointer attempts. That’s a good reason to take advantage of PointsBet’s ‘Make it Rain’ booster on all Sixers games. If you wager at least $100 on the pregame spread for Philly, the Knicks, or Nets contests, PB will auto-apply the promo, and reward you with $3 on every made three-pointer.

Stay tuned to The Props Network for more NBA betting news.

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