The Philadelphia 76ers are heading into New York City to take on the New York Knicks on Tuesday night in the second game of their back-to-back series. The Sixers are coming off a win against the Knicks on Sunday night, 79-73, in the season’s lowest-scoring game for the entire league.
Both teams were limited with injuries to their top players for the contest, whereas tonight, the Sixers should see guard Tyrese Maxey return from a concussion, and the Knicks are hoping to welcome back OG Anunoby from a shoulder injury.
Sixers vs. Knicks betting info
Spread: Philadelphia 76ers +7 | New York Knicks -7
Moneyline: Philadelphia 76ers +230 | New York Knicks -285
Total: Over/Under 210.5
Sixers game information
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (36-28) at New York Knicks (37-27)
When: 7:30 pm EST
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York NY
Watch: TNT
Latest on the Sixers
The big news for the Sixers will be the expected return of All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey, who’s missed the past four games dealing with a concussion. Maxey is 14th in the league in scoring and has taken huge strides this season as he’s developed into a true second star on the team behind reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who remains out after having knee surgery.
With the Sixers expected to have Maxey back, they’ll be able to put together a better starting lineup than the one they put on the court on Sunday. With a likely starting lineup of Maxey, Paul Reed, Kelly Oubre Jr., Tobias Harris, and Kyle Lowry, the Sixers look to have a good unit that can compete with the Knicks and provide more than 79 points in the game.
While Mo Bamba has started the past two games for the Sixers, Paul Reed has been fantastic off the bench giving the Sixers 13 points and 7 rebounds against the Knicks, after 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench in the previous game against the Pelicans. The team will need Reed to continue to shine as he has of late, if they’re going to keep up with the Knicks, who will be out for revenge after Sundays loss.
Latest on the Knicks
The Knicks are hoping to have OG Anunoby back for tonight’s contest, and that should help offset the Sixers’ return of Tyrese Maxey. Anunoby, acquired just prior to the league’s trade deadline, has averaged 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists since coming over from the Raptors. He’s also helped the Knicks on the defensive end of the floor averaging 1.1 blocks and 1.8 steals per game to help the defense get better as they battle for playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks will need more from the entire team if they’re going to get past the Sixers on Tuesday because they shot 30% on their three-point attempts in the previous game while shooting 38.8% from the floor total. Jalen Brunson led the way for the team with 19 points and 8 assists, which will need to be much better when facing a Maxey-led Sixers squad.
While the Knicks still have some good players, having Anunoby and Brunson on the floor will take the pressure off Bojan Bogdanovic and Donte DiVincenzo who out up a combined 25 points on Sunday. They’ll need better shooting from the four players than what they’ve seen in the last game and Anunoby should help open up the floor for the rest of the squad.
What to watch for tonight
Nothing could be as bad as what the teams put on the court on Sunday, or at least we can hope that it won’t be that bad. While the Knicks shot just 30% on their three-point attempts, the Sixers were far worse, only shooting 22.5% on their own.
While Tobias Harris finished the previous game with 11 points and 12 rebounds while Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, the two combined to shoot 11-33 from the floor, and neither player hit a three-pointer, combining to go 0-7 on their attempts. While the rest of the Sixers weren’t playing much better, and the Knicks were playing slightly worse, the Sixers can’t expect to win if those two have another horrible shooting night.
The return of Maxey is huge for the Sixers as he’s been the heart and soul of the squad throughout the season, but after coming off a concussion, the team has to be careful to keep him out of situations that could result in further injury.
With Maxey, that’s going to be hard as he only knows how to play one way, and if he’s cleared to play, then he’s going to play his game. The Sixers would be wise to keep an eye on him and his minutes, even in a tight game where the Sixers could jump up to a tie for fourth place with the Knicks in the Eastern Conference with a win.
Prediction
Sixers 108 – Knicks 103
