The New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers both sport 2-1 records to start the season, and will be doing battle at Madison Square Garden?
Will the Knicks get back in the win column at home, or will the 76ers make it two losses in a row for them? Catch this game live on October 27, at 7:30 AM, Manila time.
Away: Philadelphia 76ers (2-1, 2-0 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Tyrese Maxey
- SG: Seth Curry
- SF: Danny Green
- PF: Tobias Harris
- C: Joel Embiid (day-to-day)
Joel Embiid had a solid game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. As expected, he’s leading the team with 21 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.3 SPG and 2.7 BPG. However, he’s listed as day-to-day, though he’s proven that he’s willing to play through injury in last year’s playoffs. His backup, Andre Drummond, missed their last game against the thunder with an ankle sprain, and is also listed as day-to-day at the moment.
Embiid has been getting some good help, though, especially from Seth Curry, who led the Sixers with 28 points in the 115-103 win in Oklahoma City. He’s currently their second-leading scorer at 20.3 PPG, closely followed by Tobias Harris with 19.0 PPG.
Still missing Ben Simmons for the foreseeable future, it will be interesting to see what kind of lineups the Knicks run to try to stop Embiid, assuming the Cameroonian center takes the court.
The Sixers are currently 2-1-0 ATS, and 1-2-0 on the over/under this season.
Home: New York Knicks (2-1, 1-1 Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Kemba Walker
- SG: Evan Fournier
- SF: RJ Barrett
- PF: Julius Randle
- C: Mitchell Robinson
The Knicks have a lot of different weapons to throw at the 76ers, especially with the addition of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier in the offseason. Fournier is currently the Knicks’ second-leading scorer with 19.3 PPG, and he’s going to be a tough cover for Seth Curry. That may lead to them switching Danny Green on him a lot more, but that would force Curry to guard RJ Barrett, who’s the bigger man at 6’6 compared to Curry’s 6’2. Curry also gives up a significant weight disadvantage, as Barrett weighs over 20 pounds more than him.
Julius Randle and Tobias Harris will be a big matchup to watch, as Randle is currently averaging 28.7 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 6.3 APG, 1.3 SPG and 2.3 BPG. Harris does not match that production, especially on the defensive end, where he’s only averaging 0.3 steals and 0 blocks.
The big ask will come for Mitchell Robinson, though, as he’ll have his hands full guarding Embiid. Robinson is averaging 9.0 PPG, 12.0 RPG and 1.7 BPG and even though they won’t rely on his scoring, he’s got arguably the most important job because he has to contain one of last year’s MVP finalists.
Derrick Rose also continues to show that he’s got something left in the tank, as he’s averaging 14.7 PPG and 5.0 APG off the bench this season. He contributed 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in their most recent losing effort against the Orlando Magic, and being a coach Thibs favorite, he might see a lot of time on the court against Philadelphia.
The Knicks are 2-1-0 ATS and 3-0-0 versus the over/under so far.
PREDICTION:
Spread: I believe Philadelphia has a bit of trouble keeping up with the Knicks, and the Knicks cover -1.5.
Over/Under: The Knicks have a lot of offensive weapons (121 PPG), and the Sixers (113.7 PPG) aren’t slouchers in that department either. I like the over 218.5.
