Pick: Milwaukee -5.5
Odds: -110
$100 Could Win You…$190
The NBA spotlight will be shining brightly on Philadelphia as the 76ers host the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. Even with Joel Embiid missing, the star power in this game is hard to deny. And the winner will be continuing a winning streak, all while putting themselves in excellent position in the Eastern Conference.
Moneyline Betting Odds
| Team |
|
|---|---|
| Philadelphia 76ers | +188 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | -218 |
Spread Betting Odds
| Team |
|
|---|---|
| Philadelphia 76ers | +5.5 -107 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | -5.5 -113 |
Over/Under Betting Odds
| Team |
|
|---|---|
| Philadelphia 76ers | O 235 -112 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | U 235 -108 |
This is one of those games when something has to give, as both teams have active winning streaks. Milwaukee has reeled off four straight wins, while Philly is on the NBA’s longest active streak with six in a row. Expect some heightened intensity as they clash at Wells Fargo Center.
On top of that, there is the matter of positioning in the East. The two teams go into play on Wednesday with Philly on top in the East by just a game over Brooklyn, who has also been on fire of late with five wins in a row. Meanwhile, the Bucks’ recent hot streak has pushed them into a solid spot in third in the East, now 2 ½ games back of the Sixers.
Injury Report
Obviously, the one main element missing from this game will be Joel Embiid, who will probably be sitting a few more weeks with the knee injury he suffered this past weekend. But it should be noted that Philly hasn’t missed him much during his recent absences. Since the All-Star Break, Embiid had missed three of the four games Philly has played (the first was due to health and safety protocols) and they won all three by an average margin of 20 points.
Granted, none of those opponents were anywhere near the caliber of Milwaukee. But the bottom line is that Philly has become better equipped to be without Embiid. And that was something that they needed to prove this year, since Embiid, for as brilliant as he has been this season, is still extremely injury-prone.
As for Milwaukee, it’s been a pretty charmed season in terms of injuries so far this year:
NBA bottom 5, least games missed by injured players
NOP 27
MIL 42
LAC 47
CHO 48
DAL 63https://t.co/jZoxzmQuOE— Man Games Lost NBA (@ManGamesLostNBA) March 16, 2021
The Bucks were without Jrue Holiday for a long stretch, and that definitely hamstrung them when he was out. Coach Mike Budenholzer kept fiddling with his starting lineup for the right fit. Now Holiday is back and in the starting lineup, which is a particular help late in close games, which this contest seems destined to be.
The New Bigs
Any time you play the Bucks, you have to deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak is in the midst of his best stretch of basketball this year. He has ripped off three consecutive triple doubles, and he’s even been making his free throws:
- Giannis’ Season FT%: 7
- Last Three Games FT%: 2 (20-21)
While it’s not the part of his game that most people consider when they think of him, Embiid is an important rim protector for the Sixers. Without him, the onus has been on Dwight Howard and Tony Bradley. Bradley has been a pleasant surprise when he has received extended minutes this year, and Howard has continued thriving in his late-career niche of shot blocker-rebounder that he perfected last year with the champion Lakers.
Philly Coach Doc Rivers would probably prefer both of those guys out of the game in clutch time, going small to prevent Bradley and Howard, both poor free-throw shooters, from hurting them with key misses from the charity stripe. But Giannis makes it tough for an opposing team to go small. He’ll either dunk on you or, if you collapse too much on him, he’ll find the Bucks deadly marksmen for easy threes.
Hot Harris
Ben Simmons is having an excellent season, albeit one occasionally interrupted by injuries, for Philly. But you could make a strong case that Tobias Harris has been the second-most valuable player for the 76ers. Harris was frustrated by his pay at the end of last year and dedicated himself in the abbreviated offseason to improving his efficiency.
Harris has always been one of those guys who did a lot with a little, but this year he has taken it to a new level. Thanks to career-bests in field goal and free throw percentage, Harris is just a few free-throw percentage points shy at this moment of joining the vaunted 50-40-90 club.
Harris’ line in the Sixers win last night over the Knicks was typical. In a tight, close relatively low-scoring game, Harris put up 30 points on just 20 field goal attempts. His improvement is the reason why Philly has a legitimate shot at the Bucks in a game like this without their superstar center in the lineup.
NBA Betting Trends
Considering how well these two teams have played on the whole this year, you would think that the betting records would look pretty good as well. But there are some negative trends on both sides here. It will be interesting to see which one holds the most value at NBA betting websites.
The Sixers are coming off a win last night over Knicks. In the second game of back-to-backs, Philly has covered just one out of six games. That’s dead last out of the 30 NBA teams.
Meanwhile, the Bucks are often road favorites due to their record and their talent. But they have not been a reliable cover in that situation, posting just a 7-11 record against the spread, which puts them 26th out of 30. As a result, one of those trends has to be bucked (no pun intended) with the Bucks favored on the road against the Sixers playing on no rest tonight.
What’s The Best Bet?
This is the first time that these two powerhouses meet this season, so there isn’t really anything to go on in terms of past performances. Not that it would have been that enlightening anyway, because Philly without Embiid is an entirely different breed of cat. Instead, you have to compare them in terms of where they are right now.
Philly had to fight off a particularly spirited Knick squad last night. While the Bucks are in the middle of a road trip, they are better rested and hitting on all cylinders right now. Look for them to win this first clash and draw a little nearer in the standings in the East.
Jim Beviglia
Jim Beviglia joined Gamblingsites.org as a staff writer in 2018, parlaying his years of freelance writing into contributions on a number of different topics. He handles the sport of horse racing for GamblingSites.org and the intersection between the worlds of cryptocurrency and online gambling in a weekly blog.
For his full-time job, Jim handles the television and track announcing duties at a h …
