Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA
Philadelphia 76ers vs New York Knicks: Eastern Conference Playoffs – First round
The New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers are starting their playoff battle tonight at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
How good are the Sixers with Embiid back?
The Philadelphia 76ers finished in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 47-35 record. They won the last eight games of the regular season but still had to go through the play-in tournament. There, the Sixers won 105-104 against the Miami Heat to make it to the playoffs. The Sixers are leading the league with 8.4 steals per game and 19.5 free throws per game. They are also 15th in the league, averaging 114.5 points per game. Joel Embiid leads the team with 34.7 points and 11 rebounds per game.
Is this the season for the Knicks?
The New York Knicks finished second in the Eastern Conference with a 50-32 record. They won the last five games of the regular season and are coming off a 120-119 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls. The Knicks are second in the league, allowing 108.2 points per game, and are ranked second to last in the league with 24.4 assists per game. Jalen Brunson leads the team, averaging 28.7 points and 6.7 assists per game.
Betting Trends
These two teams have played under the total point line in 4 of their last 5 head-to-head games and in 8 of the last 10 games played in New York. The Sixers have stayed under in 5 of the last 7 games against teams from the Atlantic Division.
Prediction and Conclusion
The New York Knicks are having their best season in more than a decade, and they go into the playoffs with high hopes. Unfortunately for them, their two best big men, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson III, are out for the season, and they will have to go against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. Embiid missed significant time with an injury this season but came back just in time to get his team to the playoffs. This game will be a real spectacle, and it will be interesting to see how the Knicks will guard the reigning MVP. The Knicks are second in the league in allowed field goal attempts, and they will force the Sixers to slow down the pace. With the stakes sky high and the fact that 8 of the last 10 games between these two in New York have finished under the total point line, we are going with under 208.5 points in tonight’s game.
