Sixers vs Pistons: How to watch, betting preview & predictions

The Philadelphia 76ers are home to take on the Detroit Pistons in the second game of their back-to-back series. The Sixers dominated on Wednesday night in a 129-111 win. While the game was closer than most would have thought, Philly had 13 of their 15 players score, they were lead by MVP Joel Embiid who dropped 41 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Sixers vs Pistons game details

Who: Detroit Pistons (2-22) at Philadelphia 76ers (16-7)
When: 7:00 pm EST
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia PA
Watch: NBA League Pass, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Bally’s Sports Detroit

Sixers vs Pistons: betting info

Spread: Sixers -16 | Pistons +16
Moneyline: Sixers -1350 | Pistons +800
Total: Over/Under 235

What’s going on with the Sixers

The Sixers will be looking for their fifth straight win and second in a row over the visiting Pistons, after beating them in Detroit 129-111.

Reigning MVP Joel Embiid dropped 41 points on the Pistons on Wednesday and it seems that he’s only getting better as the season progresses. Embiid has climbed to the top of the MVP ladder, is leading the league in scoring, and is generally dominating all aspects of the game when he’s on the floor. It’s scary to think what Embiid would do if he were playing more than 30 minutes per game. The last time he played more than 31 minutes was against the Wizards on December 6th and he gave them 50 points.

Tobias Harris came out of a recent slump on Wednesday, shooting 70% from the field and 60% on his three-point attempts, on his way to 21 points. Kelly Oubre Jr. is getting himself back into game shape after missing time and had himself 17 points. With players like Pat Beverley, Marcus Morris Sr., Robert Covington, and even Paul Reed, all seeing extended minutes off the bench, the team is talented and deep throughout.

The big question for the Sixers is will the Tyrese Maxey that they’ve seen all year, reappear tonight after having a horrible night in Detroit? Maxey finished the game with just 9 points on 2-13 shooting, including 0-6 on his three-point attempts. While he did dish out 9 assists, Maxey had a rare bad night and still found ways to contribute. It shouldn’t be something to worry about as all players have bad games.

What’s going on with the Pistons

What can you say about a team that’s lost 21 straight games? The Pistons are just bad. They started the season off with two wins over the Hornets and Bulls as they went 2-1 in their first three games. Since October 28th, they’ve not won a game. They’re currently the worst team in the league but still only one game behind the Wizards and Spurs.

What the Pistons do have is a very good core of young, talented players. Cade Cunningham is their leading scorer giving the Pistons 22.0 points and 7.3 assists per game this season. After Cunningham, you have center Jalen Duren, point guard Jaden Ivey, forward Ausar Thompson, and center Isaiah Stewart, who are all under 22 years of age. That is something to give the Pistons faithful good deal of hope moving forward.

What they don’t have this season is a cohesive unit that’s able to contain pretty much any other team in the league. Their youth is an asset for a rebuilding team but it’s for sure a liability in this current season. The club is hopeful that first year head coach, Monty Williams should be able to lead and coach these young players into a solid unit over the next two years, revitalizing a once proud organization.

Sixers vs Pistons prediction

The Sixers, in their current state, are just a very good and exciting team to watch. They’ve been close to the top of the Eastern Conference since the start of the season, faced some adversity along the way, and have come into this stretch of December games, against mostly bad teams, with a healthy and full unit, able to use these games to get better as a team.

Games against teams like the Pistons are great to see the whole team get quality minutes, Joel Embiid should have another 30+ point game with 10+ rebounds and 6+ assists, all in under 31 minutes. Tyrese Maxey should use the game to concentrate on getting quality shots and not having a night like Wedensdays.

These should be a fun time for the team, lots of scoring, good defense, and a show for the hometown fans. By the fourth quarter you’ll be able to get your fill of the tech players you may not regularly see, hopefully some Korkmaz and Springer minutes. All-in-all. it should be an entertaining game for the Sixers fans as much as it’s going to be painful for the Pistons players.