Bucks vs. 76ers Pick
Are the host Philadelphia 76ers going to cruise to victory tonight when they battle the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30PM ET?
Who Oddsmakers Like: Philadelphia. According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the 76ers are listed as a 6.5-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 214 points. The spread opened with Philly as a 4-point fave, while the over-under has dropped slightly from 214.
Who the Public Likes: Philadelphia. As of Saturday morning, 54 percent of public bets have come in on the Sixers.
Injury Report: Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is battling knee soreness and will be out for tonight’s game. Malcolm Brogdon is dealing with a personal matter and expected to be out. Jabari Parker is targeting an early February return from a torn ACL. Mirza Teletovic is out until late March after knee surgery and pulmonary emboli in both lungs. For the 76ers, Richaun Holmes has missed the last two games with an illness and is questionable tonight. Furkan Korkmaz is out until mid-February with a lisfranc injury. JJ Redick is out until early February with a leg injury. Markelle Fultz is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury.
Who the Trends Like: Milwaukee is 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings in Philadelphia and 9-4 ATS in the last 13 meetings overall. The under is 4-0 in the last four Milwaukee road games.
Who We Like: The Sixers have won six of their last seven games, the last two being against a pair of quality Eastern Conference opponents at home versus Toronto (117-111) and at Boston (89-80). While Philadelphia has not established a great home-court advantage this season at 10-9 compared to 11-10 on the road, I believe it has whait takes to cover the spread here. While Redick being out takes away a strong outside shooter, the presence of Joel Embiid inside opens everything up with the Sixers’ offense and he is an elite rim protector defensively. The Bucks have lost three of their last four and Antetokounmpo being out doesn’t help matters in the slightest. Side with Philly here.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: PHILADELPHIA 76ERS -6.5