The struggling Detroit Pistons welcome the NBA’s best offense when they host the Philadelphia 76ers tonight. It’s still early but these are two teams heading in very different directions. The Pistons will hope to win their second game of the season at home and got a boost recently with the return of rookie Cade Cunningham.
Read on to take a look at the NBA odds and the best sportsbook to bet with today.
Thursday, November 04, 2021 – 07:00 PM EDT at Little Caesars Arena
With all of the off-court distractions leading up to this season, it is a bit surprising to Philadelphia playing so well. They have the league’s most efficient offense right now and come into this game as 6 point favorites. The line is a bit short here because of the absence of Tobias Harris who tested positive for Covid19. He will miss at least three games while he recovers.
Harris’ absence will be felt as well as he’s been playing. He’s averaging 19.8 points on 54% shooting to go along with 9 rebounds and 4 assists per game. With Joel Embiid averaging only 20.6 points per game to start the season, Harris’s offense has been crucial to the Sixers’ success.
There’s bad offense and then there’s this current Detroit team. They are last in points per game, offensive efficiency, net rating, field goals made per game, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, and defensive rebounds. There’s only so much you can be bad at and expect to come away with wins. The sample size is small so there will be an improvement but it needs to happen soon.
They did get a boost with the return of the first overall pick, Cade Cunningham. While it is certainly a morale boost to have your future franchise player back, that impact has not really been felt on the court. Cunningham has missed a lot of time and it’s already hard enough getting used to life in the pros but when you’re not in a good rhythm coming in, it’s that much more difficult still.
Cunningham is shooting 13% from the field after two games and is 0-14 from three. Obviously, two games aren’t enough to judge him properly but the Pistons need to do everything they can to get him some easy looks. The last thing they need is their young star getting in his own head because of the rough start.
Most of the top-rated sportsbooks have the total for this game at 207. While the Sixers have been the league’s most efficient offense, their defense has lagged behind by their standards. They rank 12th in defensive efficiency so far this season. For your NBA pick consider that in the last season they were second in the league and have been one of the league’s best defensive teams for some years running.
Not to bring up Ben Simmons but for those that want to say their offense is more efficient without him, the truth is, he is one of the best defensive players in the league. He can guard multiple positions and it does appear that his absence has been felt on that side of the ball. The good news for Philly fans is that Embiid will be playing and with Harris out, expect him to have a big impact on both ends of the court.
NBA Pick: Philadelphia under 207 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.