The history shows Knicks have proven to be a better opponent in this fixture, but will this be the case today in this Eastern Conference match-up?
Philadelphia 76ers are not in a great spot at the moment. They are in 13th position in the East with a poor record of 10-25. It’s clear they are having some troubles in this season, but I see a improvement from them in the recent matches. 76ers have been on and off losing streaks for a while. They even held a 8 game losing streak, which started in late November and finally ended in mid December. However, in the past 5 games 76ers managed to win 3 games. Nuggets (100:83), Timberwolves (122:124) and Nets (95:105) were all defeated by 76ers. On the other side Jazz (100:83) and Celtics (110:106) proven to be too strong. Looking at the match against Nets, the game started poorly for 76ers, who were 11 points behind before going into 2nd half (57:46). But then came the 3rd quarter, in which 76ers dominated the court, holding Nets at only 33.3% FG and outscoring them by 16 points (16:32). With the 5 point lead, 76ers did not step off the gas and added another 5 points to their lead in the last 12 minutes, thus winning the match despite trailing by 11 points. All in all, 76ers shot 39.4% from the field, with 13 turnovers and 11 steals. Nets held a 46.2% FG, but they committed 22 turnovers and stole the ball 6 times. Top scorers of the match were; Lopez (26pts), Embiid (20pts) and Saric (18pts).
NY Knicks are currently at 11th position in the East with a record of 17-21. They are coming into this match with a terrible run behind them, as they only won 1 game out of 9 played. With that they are one of the teams with the worst form at the moment. Looking at their recent match against Pelicans, it was a disappointing performance from Knicks. They were trailing by 9 points going into 2nd half (51:60) and the margin got even bigger in 3rd quarter, with Pelicans outscoring the home side by 16 points and shutting down Knicks offence (30%FG). Knicks did show some will to come back in the last quarter (30:19), but a 25 point margin was just too much to handle. Knicks shot 42.4% with 14 turnovers and 5 steals. Pelicans shot 48.2% from the field with 8 turnovers and 11 steals. Top scorers; Davis (40 pts), Jennings (20pts) and Anthony (18pts).
Verdict & Prediction
There is no denying Knicks won 9 out of 10 last fixtures against 76ers and that is an important information, but looking at the current form of Knicks this will be hard to repeat. Neither of the teams are really shining, but there is one that is definitely having a harder time in recent matches and that is NY Knicks. Sometimes history does repeat itself, but today I believe that won’t be the case.
Prediction: Philadelphia 76ers +2 points
Odds: 1.89 Pinnacle
Another betting preview for tonight : Minnesota Timberwolves v Houston Rockets
