The 76ers are back on the Crypto.com Arena floor Tuesday night with a chance to complete a season sweep of the Los Angeles teams.
Philadelphia eked out a win over the Lakers in the final seconds of Sunday’s game to take the series. Now, it has a chance to do the same against the Clippers.
The Sixers took the first meeting at the Wells Fargo Center in late December, 119-114. Both teams were generally healthy for that matchup in which Joel Embiid totaled 44 points and James Harden tied a franchise-record 21 assists to overcome a 20-point deficit. They ou-tdueled Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who combined for 50 points.
Los Angeles has defended its home floor well enough with a 13–10 record and Philadelphia enters with a respectable 10–9 mark on the road. The 76ers are 7–3 over their last 10 and have won their first two on their five-game road trip, while the Clippers are 2–8 over that same stretch but took two of their last three.
George (hamstring) is questionable while Luke Kennard (calf) and John Wall (abdominal strain) have been ruled out. Philadelphia’s injury report is clean and it’s a slight favorite on the road.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Los Angeles Clippers Odds
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Spread: 76ers -1.5 (-110) | Clippers +1.5 (-110)
Moneyline: PHI (-118) | LAC (+100)
Total: 222.5 — Over (-110) | Under (-110)
76ers Betting Profile
Straight-Up Record: 27–16
Against The Spread Record: 23–19-1
Over/Under Record: 26–17
Points Per Game (Rank): 113.8 (16)
Points Allowed Per Game (Rank): 110.2 (4)
Clippers Betting Profile
Straight-Up Record: 23–22
Against The Spread Record: 22–23
Over/Under Record: 17–28
Points Per Game (Rank): 109.4 (28)
Points Allowed Per Game (Rank): 109.9 (3)
Spread Bet: 76ers -1.5 (-110)
Philadelphia is 6–6 against the spread (ATS) as the favorite in away games. It failed to cover against the Jazz and Lakers, the first two games of this road trip, but the spreads for those games were -7 and -5.5, respectively. On the flip side, the Clippers are 3–5 ATS as a home underdog, one of the worst marks in the league.
Embiid has historically thrived in this matchup. He’s 8–1 against L.A. with averages of 33.7 points and 13.0 rebounds. Ivica Zubac isn’t enough to limit the league’s No. 2 scorer for 35 minutes as the December game showed when Embiid shot 18-for-30. Even with the edge in matchup, Philadelphia is at a slight disadvantage on the boards, though it won the rebounding battle in the first game.
It’s possible George returns from his five-game absence Tuesday, which would be a huge boost for Los Angeles offensively and defensively. But even if he’s back on the court, the Clippers will be hard-pressed to succeed in trading buckets with the 76ers, who are consistently getting great games from their stars and have their entire rotation available.
If this spread were much wider I’d go with the home team plus the points, but Philly essentially just has to win on the road, where they’ve won four in a row.
These teams combined for 233 points in the first matchup, almost 10 points higher than where this total is set. The total in that game was set at just 214. There wasn’t an inordinate number of free throws made or even a particularly prolific three-point performance by either team—the 76ers and Clippers both just made more than half of their shots.
Los Angeles has had the fewest games in the league (17) hit the over this season and their 3–20 over/under mark at home is truly astonishing. That said, I’m still going with the over because of my confidence in Philadelphia, which has seen eight of its last 10 go over with lines set well above 222.5.
These two slow-paced offenses could play 48 minutes of grind-it-out basketball and neither team eclipses 110 points, but I’m banking on Embiid and Harden to keep things rolling on the road.
Prop Bet: James Harden Over 20.5 Points (-110)
Harden finished just under this point total in the last meeting. He scored 20 on the nose, though he was a bit more focused on passing than scoring in that game as he totaled 21 assists. So far in January, his scoring is up to 23.1 ppg, almost a point above his season average, and he’s scored more than 21 points in three straight games.
Harden’s three-point percentages are up as of late, which is a good indicator he could deliver on this prop even if he’s not necessarily hunting for his shots. The Clippers are known for their defense, but they’re not impenetrable, either.