The Philadelphia 76ers start off the last third of the season at home against the New York Knicks on Thursday night, as they look to make a move up the standings in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks are sitting right above the Sixers, in fourth place, just a half of a game up but are riding a four game losing streak, coming into Philly. The Sixers lost to the Heat in their last game before the All-Star break but had won their previous two games.
76ers vs Knicks game information
Who: New York Knicks (33-22) at Philadelphia 76ers (32-22)
When: 7:00 pm EST
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass, MSG Network
Sixers vs Knicks betting information
Moneyline: 76ers -1 (-110) | Knicks +1 (-110)
Spread: 76ers -115 | Knicks -105
Total: Over/Under 228
Latest on the 76ers
The 76ers start the home stretch of their playoff run with a more complete roster than it has been but they’re still not close to being full strength. In addition to Joel Embiid, the Sixers will still be missing stating guard DeAnthony Melton and 6th man, Robert Covington. Neither has played in over a month with Melton scheduled to be back as soon as this weekend and Covington still a few weeks out. Nico Batum is listed as questionable on the injury report but reportedly will be playing tonight, as will Tobias Harris who’s battled injuries of late.
The Sixers have a tough road ahead of them, facing top Eastern Conference teams over the next week but they’ll be a much more formidable opponent with newly acquired marksman, Buddy Hield, and reserve Cam Payne. Hield has acclimated himself well to the team and has looked better than the has since the 2018 season with the Kings. Payne has settled into a ket reserve role and looks to be ready to share some time with newly acquired Kyle Lowry.
Hield is on fire since joining the Sixers and he looks like he’s found new life on a team that he has been linked to for a few years. Since arriving in Philly, even though it’s only been four games, he is averaging 39 minutes per game and giving the Sixers 22.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and a whopping 7.5 assists per game, all while shooting 45% on his three-point attempts. To say that acquiring Hield was a good move would be an understatement. He gives the Sixers another quality scoring option that must be defended while they await the return of Joel Embiid.
Latest on the Knicks
The Knicks had won nine straight games, shot up the standings in the Eastern Conference, and looked like they were going to be a problem come playoff time. Then the wheels fell off. They’re 1-5 in the six games following their winning streak and they’ve lost four in a row, including losses to the Magic and Rockets.
What has hurt the Sixers is hurting the Knicks just as bad. Julius Randle is out for the foreseeable future with a shoulder injury, OG Anunoby has been sidelined with an elbow injury, and Mitchell Robinson hasn’t played since December. The Knicks should have newly acquired Bojan Bogdanovic playing tonight as well as Donte DeVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein, so there’s hope for them in tonights matchup.
With the injuries having piled up, there hasn’t been much hope for the Knicks of late. Brunson is averaging 27.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.5 assists on the season and the team will need him to be even better as they make their way towards the playoffs and await the return of their other two star players.
What to watch for tonight
With Maxey and Hield on the court, the Sixers have become a fun team to watch in the absence of reigning MVP, Joel Embiid. Hield has taken off since coming over to the Sixers and looks to be the quality shooting piece that the team lacked prior to losing Embiid. He’s a volume shooter who just so happens to be shooting 45% on his three-point attempts since the trade. If the 76ers are able to make the playoffs and have Embiid return to full strength, Hield is going to get more good looks than he’ll know what to do with.
While Hield and Maxey have been stellar over the last few games, other youngsters have been getting minutes. Ricky Council IV, Terquavion Smith, and KJ Martin have all had big games while the team dealt with a depleted roster. While there hasn’t been the level of consistency that fans would like, the minutes are there for the younger players to see what it’s like against top Eastern Conference competition and that can only help the team as they prepare for the playoffs.
The Knicks, having made huge strides in the standings before dropping off, shouldn’t issue much of a challenge to the Sixers tonight. Jalen Brunson who played at Villanova, will give the Knicks over 30 points in Philly but he may be overshadowed by the return of Philly native, Kyle Lowry, who will be playing in his first game in a Sixers uniforms since signing with the team last week. Things don’t look good for the Knicks.
76ers vs Knicks Prediction
Sixers 124 – Knicks 111
AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
