76ers vs. Cavaliers NBA Odds, Preview and Pick (Archive)
The Philadelphia 76ers hit the road to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in an Eastern Conference showdown. Philadelphia comes in with 7 wins in its last 10 games but off of a loss to Denver on Monday night. The Cavaliers are just 4-6 in their last ten games but are coming off of a big overtime win over the Clippers on Monday night.
Both teams are jostling for playoff seeding in this key battle. This game will tip-off at 7:00 PM EST on Wednesday, March 16. Let’s see what the NBA odds for this matchup tell us!
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Wednesday, March 16, 2022 – 07:00 PM EDT at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Betting Preview
The Philadelphia 76ers are now 6-3 in games played by James Harden since the team altering trade at the NBA Trade Deadline. On Monday night, the Sixers lost to Denver to fall to 41-26 on the season. They are now a game behind Milwaukee in second place in the Eastern Conference and just a half-game above Chicago and a game above hard-charging Boston in the crowded top of the East.
It was a battle between the reigning MVP in Nikola Jokic and the favorite for this year's MVP, Joel Embiid, in Philadelphia. Jokic did his part with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists while Embiid, the NBA's leading scorer, had 34 points and 9 rebounds. The Sixers faltered down the stretch, which may have been due to the fact that they were playing the back end of back-to-back games, winning in overtime on Sunday against lowly Orlando.
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Philadelphia fans received a bit of a scare when Embiid took a hard foul late in the game but he got up and made one of two free throws and Philadelphians breathed a sigh of relief.
The Cavaliers won a critical game on Monday night, 120-111 in overtime, over the Clippers to improve to 2-2 in games played without the all-star center, Jarrett Allen. Allen is out with a broken finger that may sideline him for the rest of the regular season. With the win, Cleveland is now 39-29 and a game and a half behind Boston and in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Rookie forward Evan Mobley made sure the Cavs were not going to lose their 3rd in 4 games by pumping in a career-high 30 points against the Clippers. In Allen's absence, Mobley has started at center and his offensive numbers have shot up. Mobley is averaging nearly 22 points per game and nearly 11 rebounds per game.
Darius Garland and Isaac Okoro also came up big in the overtime win. Garland had 24 points and 13 assists in the win and Okoro added 20 points in the win.
Betting Analysis
Overall, Philly is averaging 108.5 points per game which is 20th in the NBA. However, since Harden's arrival, the Sixers are averaging 115 points per game which would be #1 in the NBA. In addition, since Harden's arrival in the starting lineup, Embiid has averaged 31.2 points per game compared with 29 points per game before his arrival.
Another reality of bringing in Harden, however, has been a drop in defense. Philadelphia is still 7th in the NBA allowing just under 107 points per game but, in the nine games with Harden in the lineup, the Sixers are allowing nearly 113 points per game.
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Truly, the focus of the Sixers has changed slightly since Harden has come aboard. Embiid is still the primary focus offensively but the team has taken a step back in its ability to stop other teams from scoring. It will be a continued work in progress as playoff season looms.
Allen's injury notwithstanding, the Cavs are actually getting healthier. They have seen the recent returns of Garland, Lauri Markkanen, and Caris LeVert, last night, help bolster a team that has been slipping down the standings. Allen's injury is critical, however, because of his rebounding and defense in the middle.
Since losing Allen, the Cavs are allowing 113 points per game compared with 103 points per game for the season, which is #2 in the NBA. Additionally, Cleveland is averaging 42 rebounds per game in Allen's absence compared with 52 rebounds per game overall. Much like Philadelphia is adjusting with the addition of Harden into an offensive team, the Cavs are doing the same without Allen.
Expert Pick
If this game took place just one month ago, we'd be talking about which defense would step up and take away what the other team wants to do. Now, these two teams are both led by their offenses as each has lost a bit of their defensive identity.
In an offensive game, I favor Philadelphia. Without Allen, Cleveland is sorely overmatched by Embiid in the post. Embiid's game has grown considerably this year in that he's a much more effective passer out of double teams in the post. The addition of Harden has certainly affected the team on defense but his mere presence has created additional space for Embiid to work.
With Allen, Cleveland could have withstood that a bit but Mobley will not be able to defend Embiid on the post. Philly will exploit this matchup and there will be plenty of space for the Sixers' shooters to get good looks.
NBA Pick: 76ers -3 (-110) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
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