The Philadelphia Sixers have been playing most of their recent games at home and winning against all but the very best teams. They’ll be the odds-on favorite to win another when the Phoenix Suns made their only appearance in the city. Will the Sixers relax after a series of good opponents? Could Suns steal one here?
Suns at 76ers
Spread: Philadelphia -10.5 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: over/under 227.5 points (-110)
Booker scores season-high 38, but can’t save Suns
After getting hammered on the boards in Minnesota and blown out in Detroit, the Phoenix Suns finally showed some resistance to a superior team. They trailed all the way and ultimately lost 111-116 in Boston, but came close to actually stealing the game with a late push.
Returning to the site of his 70-point career night, Devin Booker was going to have a good game. He led Phoenix with 38 points, shooting 16-of-29 from the field. The Suns used the usual shot distribution, featuring Booker and Warren (8-of-21, 19 points) the most, and also got a good game from Tyson Chandler (14 points and 18 rebounds). It wasn’t enough, as they fell down 17 points early in the fourth quarter. Instead of hanging their heads, the Suns kept coming and sliced the Celtics’ lead to 105-103 with two minutes to go. Phoenix shot 48.5 percent from the field, had 60 points in the paint, out-rebounded Boston 45-31 and committed just 10 turnovers, 7 of which in the initial quarter. The Celtics closed down the game with better late execution, and the Suns coaches surely can’t be pleased with their team defense, but the offense did its part. The Suns left shooters open time and time again and failed to communicate on pick and rolls. This led to a myriad of good shots for the Boston outside players, and they made the defense pay the price, scoring 14 triples (and could have had more).
This is the fifth game on this season-long six game road trip for the Phoenix Suns and also the front end of a back-to-back set that will also send boys from Arizona to the cold Toronto the next day, so don’t you expect them to be all jumpy and spry. Good thing is that they could be playing with a full roster, as Alen Len is the only questionable player. Booker escaped a knee injury in Boston in the first quarter but played 39 minutes after a brief consulting with team physicians, so he should be fine. T.J. Warren required four stitches in his right eye at halftime of the Boston game after butting heads with a Celtics player late in the second quarter, and was late to return, but finished the game with no obvious consequences.
Place: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date/Time: Monday, December 4th, 2017. 7:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: Fox Sports Arizona, NBCSP
Gritty win for the Sixers helps their rise
The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Detroit Pistons 108-103 for their thirteenth win of the season. Last season, they needed 39 games to reach this total. This year, 17 games less. Clearly, it’s not the same team anymore.
The Sixers opened up a 16-point lead by halftime and sustained the big run the Pistons made in the third quarter to regain the lead and go in front 104-95 with about a minute left to protect an important win. Not only have they knocked down a team that has been playing really well recently, but the win also showed a big growing up – the Sixers manage to pull out the win without their shots dropping from all angles. It was a battle of wills, and not just talents. In fact, Joel Embiid was just 7-of-21, Covington was 8-of-19 and Simmons scored just 5 points on 2-of-6 shooting, as the Sixers overcame 40.7 percent shooting to triumph. They did it by creating extra possessions with their work on the glass, playing solid defense and by hitting their free throws (28-of-32). It was a veteran team’s win, and it will help them in the future. Despite wasting plenty of possessions with empty trips on Covington’s and Embiid’s missed shots, those two still led the team in scoring. Covington did it from the outside, where he hit 6-of-13 attempts to score 25 points. Embiid matched his total with a perfect 11-of-11 night at the free throw line. He also shared the rebounding team-best with Simmons, grabbing 10 boards, but the two were also guilty of 10 or the Sixers 18 turnovers.
Backup point guard T.J. McConnell has sat out the last two games and was missed. His availability for this game is not known. No. 1 rookie Fultz is still rehabing (or whatever he’s doing) and won’t play for another few weeks the least.
Phoenix Suns at Philadelphia 76ers Game Trends & Prediction
The Suns aren’t going to attract much public money, that’s for sure. For pro punters, it has been one step forward, two steps back, the worst scenario. They cover one night and get blown out the next, and it led to 10-13-1 record against the spread so far. They do fare better on the road, where the spreads are usually much larger, going 6-4 on the travel. They are an over team, not caring about defense, and happy to play at a high tempo, and not even the bookies attempts to fade the value on this side could do much to protect a 15-9 O/U record, 8-3 on the road. The Suns played only 2 unders in their last nine games despite seeing line north of 215 points in each of the contests.
The Sixers have been kind to their backers, but the recent games is showing that the market has caught up with their potential. The 5-point win of the Pistons counts as an ATS win as the line shifted in the last hour prior to the game, but other than that, it was a push – making their backers without a payday on four consecutive outcomes. The Sixers are still nothing to complain about with 15-7 ATS record, and 8-3 ratio at home. On the totals market, they’ve gone 12-10 overall and 5-6 in Wells Fargo Center, after only 2 overs in their last seven games.
Admi-Rank: The Sixers rise reached significant heights early on, and they’ve done a fair job keeping their rank above NBA average. Recently, they’ve been winning close games, which helps their record, but not their backers, so they slip a bit. The Suns are capable of covering with aid of large handicaps, but not each night, and remain stuck at NBA cellar.
This is not a game for the Sixers to learn. This one is all about execution, attention to details and staying true to themselves. I don’t think they are mature enough to have all those things check marked by the game’s end, but they are obviously much more talented and could win regardless, especially if the Suns don’t have much energy left to deal with them and the Raptors.
The bookies have high expectations for the Sixers in this one, setting them as a 10.5-point favorite at the opening of the market. The total points line has been set to 227.5, as plenty of points are expected in the game. I’m giving the Sixers 11 points of advantage in this one, but don’t agree on the totals. The game is likely to finish in a blowout and possibly cut short on minutes for the most dangerous offensive weapons. There’s significant value on unders, as the line should be at 223, and I’m not passing by it.
My Pick: (no wager on the spread)
Total: Under 227.5 points (-110)
