The Philadelphia 76ers are seeking to avenge their loss to the Golden State Warriors last month. As for the Warriors, they are looking to double down on their mastery of the Sixers, which, however, will be easier said than done, considering the presence of one Joel Embiid.
Catch this game live on Sunday, December 12, at 9:30 AM, Manila time.
Away: Golden State Warriors (21-4/7-2 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Stephen Curry
- SG: Jordan Poole
- SF: Andrew Wiggins
- PF: Draymond Green
- C: Kevon Looney
All eyes will be on Stephen Curry again. The two-time league MVP can finally break Ray Allen’s all-time record for career 3-pointers in this upcoming rematch against the Sixers on the road. Curry inched closer to that record by nailing six triples on 17 attempts in the Warriors’ most recent game – a 104-94 easy win at home against the undermanned Portland Trail Blazers Thursday. Curry shot even better when he led the Warriors to a 116-96 victory at home against the Sixers back in November, scoring 25 points and going 6/11 from long range. At this point, Curry going off is almost a given.
On top of that, the Sixers didn’t show much resistance defending the perimeter in their last game, as the Utah Jazz shot 15/40 from deep in Philly’s latest outing. The improvement and maturity of Andrew Wiggins plus the emergence of Jordan Poole have also contributed to the difficulty in handling Golden State, which is averaging 113.2 points per game, good for third overall in the NBA. The two combined for 36 points in the win over Philadelphia. The Warriors will be entering Sunday’s game with a 7-3 ATS record in their last 10 games away from home.
Home: Philadelphia 76ers (14-12/5-6 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Tyrese Maxey
- SG: Seth Curry
- SF: Danny Green
- PF: Tobias Harris
- C: Joel Embiid
After a four-game road trip in which they went 3-2, the Sixers returned home Friday and suffered a 118-96 walloping at the hands of the visiting Utah Jazz. Philly struggled to find its rhythm on offense in that game, as the team shot 43.2 FG% from the field and only 18.2% (6/33) from behind the arc. Despite that bad loss, the Sixers remain a big threat to anyone, largely because of Joel Embiid. The Cameroonian scored 19 points with nine rebounds against the Jazz, and that’s with Rudy Gobert defending him.
Embiid was not around when the Warriors defeated Philadelphia at Chase Center back in November, so his presence this Sunday will be a huge boost for the Sixers. In that game, they were led by the backcourt tandem of Seth Curry and Tyrese Maxey, who scored 24 and 19 points, respectively, but got a grand total of one point from Andre Drummond who started in place of Embiid. Although the Sixers have lost seven of their last 10 meetings with Golden State when they were the home team, Philadelphia is 7-3 ATS in those contests.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: This will be a tougher game for the Warriors than the Portland matchup, but I’m still leaning on Golden State to cover the spread (-1.5).
Over/Under: The Sixers’ offense should flow better this time with Embiid around. The Over (213.5) looks like an ideal pick.
