The First Round of the NBA Playoffs is set to continue on Thursday night, and there is a big matchup in the Eastern Conference. The Philadelphia 76ers will look to tighten up the series with the New York Knicks on Thursday night as the Knicks have a 2-0 series lead.
New York won each of the first two games of this series on their home floor, and each win came with some drama. The Knicks are the number two seed in the Eastern Conference, and they have looked the part up to this point.
Philadelphia had a very disappointing regular season caused by injuries, and things haven’t gone well in this series. The Sixers now must find a way to protect home court as they look to fight their way back into the series.
Philadelphia is the betting favorite in this game at -4.5 on the spread, and the over/under line is set at 202.5 total points.
Knicks Want to Defend
The New York Knicks have been one of the best defensive teams in the NBA this season, and that has been the strategy in this game. New York has held the 76ers to 104 points or less in each game of this series, and that has allowed them to take a 2-0 series lead.
The Knicks are not a very deep team, and fatigue could end up costing them a chance to win games as this series moves forward as well. Jalen Brunson is leading the team with 23 points and 6.5 assists in this series, but he needs more help.
New York has been shooting the ball well in this series, but they are not a team that typically makes a ton of shots from the perimeter. It will take another great shooting performance by the Knicks to win this game.
76ers Have to Score
The Philadelphia 76ers are not going to win games with their defense, and they have to find a way to speed up the tempo in this one. Philadelphia has two players scoring at least 31 points per game, but those two stars need help.
Tyrese Maxey has done all he can in this series as he is pouring in 34 points per game. Joel Embiid has battled through an injury to score 31.5 points per game, but he might need to take over even more.
The Sixers had a chance to put the game away in Game 2 of the series, but this team will need to shoot the ball better in order to get that done.
Sixers Take Control
The Sixers played well enough in Game 2 of this series to pick up a win, but a series of unfortunate events kept them from getting that done. Philadelphia will now have the backing of a great home crowd in this game, and that should make all of the difference.
New York is still playing a bit shorthanded, and they aren’t going to shoot as well as they have been in the past. The Knicks are always going to be a tough team to score against, but the Sixers will figure things out in this game.
Take the Philadelphia 76ers -4.5 as they are able to beat the New York Knicks to climb back into the series.
