Sixers vs Warriors: Betting preview, how to watch & predictions

Sixers vs Warriors: The Philadelphia 76ers are hosting the Golden State Warriors at home on Wednesday night, hoping to get a little revenge after suffering a 119-107 defeat, last Tuesday in San Francisco.

The Sixers have lost six of their last seven games, as well as reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who injured his leg against the Warriors when Jonathan Kuminga fell on his knee during a scramble for a loose ball. The Warriors are coming into Philly having won three of their last four games including a 109-98 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.

Sixers vs Warriors game information

Who: Golden State Warriors (22-25) at Philadelphia 76ers (30-19)
When: 7:30 pm EST
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia PA
Watch: ESPN, NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBC Sports Bay Area

Sixers vs Warriors betting info

Spread: Philadelphia 76ers +5 | Golden State Warriors -5
Moneyline: Philadelphia 76ers +164 | Golden State Warriors -198
Total: Over/Under 235

The latest on the Sixers

The Sixers are on a slide and there doesn’t seem to be any ending in sight. In addition to Embiid being out for at least the remainder of the regular season, the Sixers are still missing guard DeAnthony Melton who’s battled a back injury for almost a month now, forward Robert Covington who’s been out for almost two months, as well as starting forward Nico Batum who is out for tonight’s game with a hamstring strain.

Without Embiid, Maxey’s shooting has fallen apart as teams can more easily focus on stopping the league’s 13th-leading scorer. Missing players like Batum, Melton, and Covington hurts the Philly defense and will force players like Paul Reed and Daniel House Jr. into more minutes than they’re accustomed to or should be playing.

As the trade deadline approaches on Thursday there are plenty of questions about whether the Sixers should be buyers or sellers. With expiring contracts throughout the lineup, the Sixers have the players to make moves that would set them up for the future but a lot can change in the next 36 hours. It’s safe to say that tonight’s game may be the last we see with this group in its current form.

The latest on the Warriors

The Warriors are coming off a Monday night win, in Brooklyn, over the Nets where Steph Curry and Jonathan Kuminga combined for 67 points. While the Nets aren’t a great team, currently 11th in the Eastern Conference, the Warriors are in the same position in the Western Conference. The once mighty Warriors have looked like a shell of their championship selves this season.

While Steph Curry isn’t having a “down” year, he’s slightly below his marks for the past few years. He’s currently averaging 28.1 points per game on 46% shooting and 41% from beyond the three-point line, which is fine for the team leader. The problem for Curry is that there isn’t anyone on the team that’s helping him as they have in the past.

Shooting guard Klay Thompson is having his lowest scoring season since his second year in the league and he’s shooting just 37.1% on his three-point attempts, which is the worst mark of his entire career. In addition, he’s been benched in the closing moments of two of the team past three games as the coaches seem to have lost their trust in him to close out games. Oddly enough, Thompsons’ name has come up as a target for the Sixers at the trade deadline, despite his decline in performance and shooting this season.

The Warriors are still missing Chris Paul and Gary Payton II with injuries and while Payton seems to be gearing up for a return in the near future, Paul has no timetable for a return. What was supposed to be a stellar reserve backcourt for the Warriors has been missing for a good part of the season. As the Warriors have been better defensively since forward Draymond Green returned from suspension, the team is missing the help that Payton provides as a point-of-attack defender.

What to watch for tonight

Anytime that you can see future Hall of Famers such as Curry and Thompson on a basketball court, it’s a good thing to do but the rest of this game shouldn’t be that exciting. You’ll have the Tyrese Maxey show for the Sixers and maybe, just maybe, fan favorite Kelly Oubre Jr. has himself another good game.

The Sixers, with all of their injuries, will have to field a starting lineup that features Paul Reed and Daniel House Jr., which is never a good thing. While both players bring defense and energy to the floor, they’re more suited as reserves with reserve minutes. Having the two on the floor isn’t going to light up any scoreboards.

What the Sixers can hope for is that having the smaller Warriors team on the floor will allow him to get some more quality minutes for Terquavion Smith and Jaden Springer. Springer has shown that he has elite defense potential and can be used against a variety of players, which is something the Sixers desperately need while Embiid is out of the lineup. He can get the team 10-14 points if he starts taking and making shots on a regular basis.

For Terquavion Smith, it’s going to be a question mark. In nine minutes against the Brooklyn Nets, Smith was 5-6 on his three-point attempts and finished with 17 points on the night. For the next game, after having that kind of shooting night, head coach Nick Nurse chose to only play Smith for 6 minutes which resulted in three points for the game.

For a team that only shot 27.9% from beyond the arc against the Mavericks it’s a huge issue when your coach isn’t using someone for more time, especially when the trio of Pat Beverley, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Daniel House combined to shoot 3-10 from deep. Hopefully, the Sixers coach makes some moves tonight to see exactly what he has in these young players against a team that they should thrive against.