A 7-15 SU record isn’t going to have Spike Lee celebrating courtside any time soon, but Knicks spread bettors have been well-rewarded through the first quarter of the season. New York is 12-8-2 ATS, second only to Charlotte’s 13-7 in the East. On the flip side of that, the Sixers are the worst spread bet in the East at 8-14. Philly opens as a 12.5-point favorite on home court tonight.
- New York is 5-0 ATS in its last five games.
- The Sixers are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games vs New York.
- The total has gone UNDER in 14 of New York’s last 17 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia.
Knicks Are Horrible Shooters
Despite being able to keep games close, the Knicks have shot themselves in the foot, repeatedly, with inefficient shooting performances. New York is shooting 43.8 percent from the floor (T-29th), and it’s been even worse over the past three games at 40.5 percent.
So maybe if their inside game is suffering, at least they might be one of the better three-point shooting teams, right? Wrong. The Knicks are shooting 33.6 percent from beyond the arc, good for 25th in the NBA.
Tim Hardaway Jr. is the only Knicks player averaging over 16 points per game (23.0) and he’s being relied on to carry the mail for New York. It makes it easy for other teams to focus their defensive play.
Interestingly, the 76ers have the worst opponents’ shooting percentage in the NBA over the last week, with opponents shooting 50.5 percent and Philadelphia going 0-4 ATS in its last four games.
Philadelphia Is 9-1 O/U in Its Last 10
We’ve seen that the Sixers defense has been a little loose and when you combine that with the NBA’s No. 8 scoring offense, an offense that has averaged 117.14 points in the seven games since acquiring Jimmy Butler, Philadelphia games are hitting the OVER at a frantic pace.
The total for tonight’s game opened at 225 but is trending upward already and could get close to 229/230 before tipoff. Both Philadelphia and the Knicks are in the bottom six in the NBA in terms of scoring defense with New York at No. 24 (113.59 PPG) and Philadelphia at No. 26 (114.14 PPG).
My Bet for Tonight
I have two bets that I like for tonight’s game in the City of Brotherly Love. Firstly, I like a late UNDER bet after OVER bettors drive the total up a little bit – 14 of the last 17 games between these teams in Philly have gone UNDER the closing total.
New York is playing on the back end of a back-to-back and that’s when they’ve put up their lowest offensive totals this season at just 105.5 points per game and the average combined score in their previous four games in this spot is 216.25.
I’m also going to back the Knicks to continue their ATS win streak against a Philadelphia team that has won just two games by more than 12 points this season – vs Atlanta and Chicago. Like the UNDER bet, I’m going to wait to see if Sixers bettors drive this spread up even higher to get a better cushion for the underdog.
