New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers Prediction & Pick

New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers Preview and Pick
When: Wednesday, November 28th, 2018, 7:05PM ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
TV: NBA TV (216 on DirecTV)

Point Spread: NYK +12/PHi -12
Total: 229
Power Rating: Sixers -8

In a perfect example of good teams win and bad teams cover, the Knicks who are 7-15 straight up, but 13-8 ATS, travel to Philly to play the 76ers who sport a 14-8 record, but only 8-14 against the number.

Some things that stand out include (but are not limited to) the Knicks keeping things close in road games with high totals. They’ve gone 5-1 against the spread in road games where totals have been posted of 220 or more. Conversely, the Sixes haven’t fared well ATS in high scoring games as they’re currently sporting a 2-7 record ATS when allowing 115 points or more. Philly has also crapped out in both home games this season where they’ve been favored by -12.5 or more. They’ve also played poorly vs. teams with losing records at 2-5 ATS. Lastly, they’ve failed to cover vs. division opponents so far this season as they’re 0-4 ATS.

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The Knicks have been playing decent ball as of late, covering 5 in a row and six of their last seven. Even more impressive, most of these games have been vs. formidable opponents including the Blazers, Celtics, Pelicans and at Memphis. Statistically speaking, it appears that the team is putting forth more effort on the defensive end as they haven’t allowed an opponent to shoot over 50% from the field in their past 5 games.

Philly has won 5 of their last 6 but have failed to cover four games in a row. The variable that really stands out here is that the Sixers haven’t beaten a team by tonight’s -12 point spread in over 15 games. Most of their recent contests have ended with close margins, with their last 5 wins coming in with a combined total of 11 points!

Now the bad news and the deciding factor (in my mind). While the previously noted stats make this game look like easy pickin’s for the Knicks, there are a few variables in play here that swing my opinion in the other direction. For starters, the Sixers have played very well vs. the Knicks recently, winning the past two games at the Wells Fargo Center by 17 and 16 points.

Second, the Knicks don’t have an answer for Joel Embiid. While Enes Kantner is a great rebounder, he’s going to get eaten live if “The Process” takes him down low on a regular basis, which he’s very likely to do. It’s no secret around the NBA that Kantner is a bad defender.

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Third, this is the 15th straight game that the Knicks will be playing in a different venue. More importantly, it’s their 3rd game in 4 nights. They get to go home for a couple after this one and you’d be surprised how mentally checked out a team can be when in this position.

Fourth, the Sixers are comfortable as they haven’t played since the 25th and tonight’s game will be the first of a three game homestand.

Injuries

Knicks shooting guard Courtney Lee will miss tonight with a back issue.

Betting Trends

• The New York Knicks are 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
• NYK are 4-11 ATS in their last 15 Wednesday games.
  Philly is 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games playing on 2 days rest.
• The Sixers are 20-7 ATS in their last 27 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
• The UNDER is 14-3 in the last 17 meetings between these teams in at the Wells Fargo Center.
• The Knicks are 1-7 ATS in the last 8 meetings.
• The Knicks are 0-4 ATS in their last four games at Philadelphia.

Kevin’s Pick to Cover the Spread

Despite handicapping games for almost 25 years, It still blows my mind how good a game can look from the outside looking in, but once you get into the guts of the matchup, it turns out to be just the opposite. The Knicks LOOK like the play, but the bottom line is that regardless of their recent play, they don’t matchup well with this 76ers team as evidenced by Philly’s recent dominance against them. Throw in one of the nastiest schedules I’ve seen in quite some time plus the look ahead to going home after the game, I’m predicting a BLOWOUT tonight by the 76ers.

Want to Read More about this game? Predictem capper DJ has a second opinion!