Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 12/25/2022

Time: Noon ET

Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Where to watch: ABC

DraftKings: 76ers -2.5; 76ers -135, Knicks +115; O/U 217.5

FanDuel: 76ers -2.5; 76ers -134, Knicks +114; O/U 217.5

BetMGM: 76ers -2.5; 76ers -135, Knicks +115; O/U 217.5

Caesars: 76ers -2; 76ers -135, Knicks +115; O/U 217.5

76ers: 19-12

Knicks: 18-15

Well don't look now, but the Philadelphia 76ers are playing like the Philadelphia 76ers should honestly. Winners of seven straight and 6-1 against the spread in their last seven, the 76ers are on a tear and are seven games above the balanced threshold heading into Christmas break. You couldn't ask for a better run of form for the 76ers, though when you look at their overall play over the last number of weeks, you can make the case that it's not as impressive as one would hope. Especially coming off that 132-123 overtime loss in Houston on December 5th, something is clicked with the 76ers and a bulk of that has had to do with James Harden. His return has worked out perfectly for Philadelphia and on a night where Joel embiid had 44 points and seven rebounds, it was Harden with 20 points, 21 assists, and 11 rebounds in the 119-114 home victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. You're not going to see a more dominant performance like that from someone running the pick and roll and someone facilitating as well as Harden has done. During this winning streak, Harden has averaged almost 21 points per game and close to 13 assists per game. Sure, he might not be shooting the ball the way he would like had just a clip of 45%, but this is the guy that Philadelphia hoped would be on their team last season. If he continues to put up this kind of production, it's going to look very good for Philadelphia.

You knew eventually that the New York Knicks would cool off from their eight game-winning streak. And that's exactly what's happened in their last two games heading into this home matchup on Christmas against the red hot 76ers. After winning eight in a row, New York has dropped two straight at home to the Toronto Raptors and then Friday night against the Chicago Bulls. It was supposed to be the night of all nights for RJ Barrett after scoring a career high 44 points on an extremely efficient 14 of 20 shooting. But of course it would be jalen Brunson missing free throws at the end that allowed DeMar DeRozan to hit the game-winning basket and send the Knicks to a second straight loss. The Knicks have not only been good winning outright, but before these last two games, they had also dominated against the spread winning all eight in which they won outright. Surprisingly enough, the Knicks were even underdogs in four of those matchups and being favored against some of the teams that they faced the spreads were not that large. The Knicks will still not have Obi Toppin due to a knee injury, but the fact that the Knicks have played as well as they have without one of their best young players has been extremely encouraging. But it might be safe to say that New York has met its match going into this game.

 

This would normally seem like the ultimate trap game for Philadelphia after a long homestand and now going on the road to play a Christmas game while riding an extreme high. But if there's one thing we do know about Philadelphia’s top stars, they love to play when the lights are bright. There should be no exception either. 76ers 115, Knicks 105

76ers are 11-1 ATS when playing 6 or less games in 14 days this season.

Knicks are 22-34 ATS at home the last 2 seasons.

Knicks are 27-13 ATS at home when the line is between +3 and -3 the last 3 seasons.

PG: Shake Milton

SG: James Harden

SF: Tobias Harris

PF: P.J. Tucker

C: Joel Embiid

PG: Jalen Brunson

SG: Quentin Grimes

SF: RJ Barrett

PF: Julius Randle

C: Mitchell Robinson

76ers: Tyrese Maxey (foot, out)

Knicks: Obi Toppin (knee, out)