The Eastern Conference Playoffs have been fun to follow this season, especially the matchup between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. Those teams will meet up for Game 6 on Thursday night and the Knicks are holding a 3-2 series lead.
The New York Knicks could have closed out the series at home on Tuesday night as they had a 3-1 series lead. New York blew a late lead in that game, and now must win one of the final two games to advance to the next round.
Philadelphia was fighting to keep their season alive in Game 5, and they came up with some huge plays to get that done. The 76ers are currently 1-1 at home so far in this series, and will need to win one more game to stay alive.
Now that the 76ers are back on their home floor, they are 3.5-point betting favorites over the New York Knicks in this game.
Brunson Needs Some Help
Jalen Brunson has turned into one of the best players in the NBA, and he has completely taken over on offense for the Knicks. Brunson is averaging 34.4 points and 8.4 assist per game in this series, and the Sixers don’t seem to have an answer for him.
The rest of the Knicks team will need to find a way to help Brunson in this game, but that hasn’t been working through five games. New York is a team that wants to win games on defense, but at some point they must make shots.
Playing on the road has been a challenge for the Knicks all season long, and it’s going to take a massive effort for them to close out the series in Philadelphia.
Dynamic Duo Leading Sixers
The Philadelphia 76ers have a pair of superstars leading the way, and those two players are giving the Knicks some trouble. Tyrese Maxey was the biggest star in the Game 5 win and he is now averaging 32.4 points and 7.2 assists per game.
Joel Embiid has had some trouble staying healthy this season, but he is still scoring over 31 points per game. At some point Embiid is going to deliver a signature game in this series, and there is a chance that it happens at home in Game 6.
The Sixers are going to need to slow down the Knicks on Thursday night, but that is something that they have done at times this season.
Sixers Stay in Series
The Knicks pulled out all of the stops in Game 5 to try to end the series, including playing some of their stars the entire game. That plan backfired, and it could cause the Knicks to show some fatigue on Thursday night in Philadelphia.
The Sixers were able to win a game in which Joel Embiid struggled to score points, and this team has a ton of players stepping up in a big way. Philadelphia will get some help from a raucous crowd in this game, and they should have a big game on offense.
Bet the Philadelphia 76ers at -3.5 in Game 6 as they are going to beat the New York Knicks to send the series to a Game 7.
