Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/5/2023

Time: 6 p.m. ET

Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Where to watch: ESPN

DraftKings: Odds not yet available

FanDuel: Odds not yet available

BetMGM: Odds not yet available

Caesars: Odds not yet available

76ers: 34-17

Knicks: 28-25 (entering Saturday)

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76ers: won 137-125 at Spurs

Knicks: won 106-104 vs. Heat

Is it wrong if I hesitate a little bit to want to name the Philadelphia 76ers the best team in the Eastern Conference? I don't think it's it has nothing to do with the Boston Celtics per se. But when I watch Philadelphia and I see what Joel Embiid has been able to do this year along with James Harden? I find myself in a very precarious position to want to think that Philadelphia can actually make the NBA Finals this year.

 

But in order to do that they have to be more consistent in beating these teams that they should beat, and that includes their opponent on Sunday, the New York Knicks. The 76ers have been absolutely incredible over the last number of games winning nine of the last 10 and if you want to date it a little even further, fourteen of their last seventeen since the turn of the calendar year.

 

The 76ers are coming off their ninth win in the last 10 games winning 137-125 over the San Antonio Spurs. I think what we can finally say about the spurs is that they are absolutely going to be a team that puts up a lot of points but defensively you can contain them to a degree. Ultimately talent wins out, and that's why you see Embiid have the kind of games that he's capable of doing with 33 points and 10 rebounds on 10 of 18 shooting in just 28 minutes. James Harden had 16 points and eight assists and Tyrese Maxey had 25 points to help lead Philadelphia to a very solid victory.

 

“Tonight was one of those games where it was difficult to get up,” Harden said. “But you’ve got to still be professional. You’ve got to be an elite team. That’s where we are trying to get to consistently. We weren’t consistent enough tonight.

"We got a win, but we’ve got to try to be better overall.”

 

Philadelphia this covered in six of its last eight games and has been favored in all but one of them. The only one was against the Clippers on January 17th when they were getting 1.5 and ended up winning by 10 outright. When you have a consistency of winning outright and on the books, you have a dangerous team on your hands and if Philadelphia stays healthy and maybe adds another piece or two at the deadline, they are going to be very dangerous going forward.

 

The Knicks have won three of their last five after winning 106-104 against the Miami Heat on Thursday in a much needed victory after losing to Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers in back-to-back games. On a night where Jalen Brunson did not play, and Julius Randall had a solid 23 points and 10 rebounds this by shooting eight of 19 from the floor, it was RJ Barrett with thirty points on 13 of 23 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and four assists. The next shop 48% from the floor without one of their better players and one the game despite shooting 33% from the floor.

 

“The thing that I love about RJ is I always believe he’s going to bounce back and I saw it immediately the next day after the Laker game,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I said we’ll be fine because I know, like, it’s important to RJ, so I knew he’d come out aggressive.”

 

The next have covered in three of their last five after failing to cover in the previous four which is a good sign considering they were getting points in three of these last five games. The only two losses ironically were when they were favored against the Lakers and the Nets. So maybe that's not exactly a good sign and especially since the 76ers have won three of the last four meetings that trend does not tend to look well going into this game.

 

Considering the Knicks are on a back-to-back with the Los Angeles Clippers in town, Philadelphia is going to present an even bigger problem than Paul George or Kawhi Leonard can provide. It's hard to slow down that big man and it's going to be a tough test for a tired New York team. 76ers 117, Knicks 107

76ers are 43-26 ATS after playing 6 games or less in 14 days the last 3 seasons.

76ers are 12-4 ATS after a win by 10 points or ore this season.

Knicks are 3-7 ATS against division opponents this season.

PG: James Harden

SG: De'Anthony Melton

SF: Tobias Harris

PF: P.J. Tucker

C: Joel Embiid

PG: Jalen Brunson

SG: Quentin Grimes

SF: RJ Barrett

PF: Julius Randle

C: Jericho Sims

Points: Joel Embiid -- 33.5

Rebounds: Joel Embiid -- 10.1

Assists: James Harden -- 11.0

Points: Julius Randle -- 24.7

Rebounds: Julius Randle -- 10.8

Assists: Jalen Brunson -- 6.2