The Philadelphia 76ers are in a three-way battle for the third seed in the Eastern Conference and every game from now until the end of the season is crucial as a result. The Sixers welcome the struggling Sacramento Kings to the City of Brotherly Love on Friday, where sportsbooks opened the Kings as 9.5-point road underdogs with a total of 233.
Standout Stats
- All-star 76ers center Joel Embiid returned from an eight-game absence due to a knee injury to post back-to-back double-doubles in his last two games, averaging 25 points and 15.5 rebounds in wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers.
- Sacramento has dropped eight of its past 11 games to fall off in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 15 games left to play. The good news for Kings bettors is their past success vs the 76ers, as Sacramento is 3-0 SU in its past three meetings with Philly.
- Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons is not known for his outside shooting, but he has fared much better at the free-throw line since the all-star break. Simmons, who’s missed all 15 of his career three-point attempts with a meager shooting percentage of 58.2 from the free-throw line, is shooting 70.6 percent from the charity stripe since the all-star break.
- When it comes to the total, bettors will want to pay attention to the UNDER in this one. Philadelphia has quietly been the best UNDER bet in the NBA in recent weeks, as the 76ers’ past eight contests have gone UNDER the closing total with an average combined score of 213 points. The Kings have gone below the closing total in four of their previous five road games with an average combined score of 226 points.
- Betting on Sacramento to win straight up as a road underdog has been a fruitless endeavor. In the Kings’ past 14 as road dogs on the moneyline, they’re 2-12 SU.
My best bet for Kings-76ers
UNDER 233 points
The 76ers’ penchant for going UNDER totals has been something to behold lately, and I’m not going to start fading them in that regard now. The Kings have been out of sorts offensively of late and barely resemble the same team that looked to be playoff-bound only a few weeks ago. With Sacramento struggling to score and the Sixers keeping games low-scoring, this one should go below the 233 total.
The Kings are 2-12 SU in their last 14 games as road underdogs.away The total has gone UNDER in the 76ers’ last eight games (avg. combined score: 212.88).home The Kings are 3-0 SU in their last three games vs the 76ers (avg. winning margin: 4.67).
