76ers at Lakers NBA Pick for March 25

It’s trade deadline day, which brings a bit of unpredictability to tonight’s five-game NBA slate. There’s no telling which big-name players will be on the move between now and the deadline. Teams are using the deadline to jockey for playoff position and solidify themselves for the playoff stretch run.

Moneyline Betting Odds

Spread Betting Odds

Over/Under Betting Odds

The 76ers and Lakers are two teams expected to be active at basketball betting websites. Los Angeles has been favored to repeat as NBA champions for most of the season, but they have recently been surpassed as favorites by the Brooklyn Nets. The Lakers are also an injury-riddled mess right now with both LeBron James and Anthony Davis sidelined indefinitely.

The 76ers are dealing with a major injury themselves. Joel Embiid hurt his leg in the first game after the All-Star break, and there’s no telling when the big man will return. Philly is a bit thin up front ahead of tonight’s game after trading backup center Tony Bradley to the Thunder in a three-team deal. That means Dwight Howard will be in line for the lion’s share of the center minutes in tonight’s clash with his old team.

The potential for wheeling-and-dealing has the line for this game looking surprisingly small. The Sixers are just 5.5-point favorites on the road in LA tonight over the severely undermanned Lakers. The game also comes with an over/under of 215.5 points.

Where Does LA Go for Offense?

Obviously, the respective absences of James and Davis leaves the Lakers quite thin on offensive options. Both are expected to return at some point before the playoffs, but the Lakers could find themselves plummeting down the standings in the meantime. LA has lost three in a row coming into tonight’s game, with each of their last two games having been decided by double-digit margins.

Dennis Schroder, Kyle Kuzma, and Montrezl Harrell will be tasked with supplying the scoring with the two superstars sidelined. That is, assuming all of them are still Lakers by the time tonight’s game starts. Kuzma has found himself involved in no shortage of trade rumors over the years, but the 25-year-old has remained with the Lakers. Kuzma was one of the few bright spots for Los Angeles in their 128-111 defeat in New Orleans earlier this week. In 34 minutes of action, Kuz contributed 16 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.

Schroder (15) and Harrell (14.8) are the Lakers third- and fourth-leading scorers this season behind James and Davis. Schroder has struggled a bit in a high-usage role since James went down, while Harrell’s defensive lapses mean his minutes aren’t necessarily secure on a nightly basis. Harrell has played a bigger role of late with Marc Gasol out of the lineup, but Gasol is expected to return tonight.

Talen Horton-Tucker and Alex Caruso are also being forced into bigger roles as facilitators off the bench. While both are promising young players, it’s pretty clear that neither is capable of steering the ship for a title contender at this point of their respective careers. Horton-Tucker’s lack of shooting makes him a fringe option in Frank Vogel’s rotation, while Caruso doesn’t have the scoring chops to play a leading offensive role.

The Lakers are just 21-23 against the spread this season. LA has failed to cover in each of the three games over the course of their current skid, though two of those games were played away from Staples Center.

Simmons, Harris Leading Philly

Embiid’s absence means the 76ers are depending on Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons to play leading roles. While Harris has never been an All-Star, he’s pretty clearly one of the most underrated offensive players in the game. Tobias is averaging 20.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this season while shooting a career-best 50.8 percent from the field. Harris has also turned himself into a legitimate three-point specialist, shooting better than 41 percent from deep on the year.

The Sixers have only lost once so far in March, thanks in large part to Harris’ consistent contributions. Tobias has scored at least 20 points in all but two of those games, including a 25-point effort in a 10-point win over Golden State earlier this week.

Simmons, meanwhile, has become one of the game’s best all-around defenders. The 6’10” guard is capable of defending all five positions on the floor, which is a rare trait. Simmons’ scoring numbers rarely jump off the page, but his well-rounded game is an asset for this team. Simmons is averaging 16.1 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game on the season. He completely suffocated the Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins on Tuesday, holding Wiggins to just 14 points on 6-for-15 shooting from the field.

The Sixers are still in first place in the Eastern Conference at 31-13 on the year, including a 25-17-2 mark against the spread. Philadelphia has reportedly been involved in a number of trade discussions for Raptors guard Kyle Lowry. If the team ultimately does find a deal for Lowry, Philly could be a bit more shorthanded tonight. Danny Green, Tyrese Maxey, and Matisse Thybulle are a few of the rotation players that could be involved in any prospective deal.

What’s the Best Bet?

The trade deadline brings an extra element of risk into play tonight, but you can use that to your advantage as a bettor. Even if the Sixers do wind up making a big move, it’s pretty safe to assume that Harris and Simmons won’t be going anywhere. And, as long as those two are in the lineup, there’s no real reason to expect the Sixers to struggle with a severely undermanned Lakers squad tonight.

This game is taking place in Los Angeles, but the Lakers are one of the teams that still doesn’t have home fans in the building. There’s essentially no home-court advantage to be had for the Lakers. There is also a chance the Lakers’ own rotation will be even more depleted tonight if they wind up striking a deal before the deadline.

This is just a great spot to take a shot on the Sixers at -5.5. That line has the potential to move even more in Philly’s direction, and they should still easily have enough firepower to get past the Lakers regardless of what goes down before the deadline. Bet the 76ers in this one.