Hawks vs. 76ers Pick
Are the host Philadelphia 76ers going to continue their recent strong play Wednesday night at 7PM EST against the Atlanta Hawks?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv have set the 76ers as an 8.5-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under is 210 points.
Atlanta enters with a 1-6 record after a 117-106 home loss to the Bucks, their sixth straight loss after opening the season with a win. Philadelphia is 3-4 following a 115-107 win at the Rockets, its third win in the last four games. The Hawks won all four meetings last season straight up and ATS. The over-under went 2-2. Atlanta has won the last seven meetings straight up and ATS.
The Hawks were led by Dennis Schroder in the loss to Milwaukee as he tallied 21 points and eight assists. Taurean Prince contributed 17 points and five rebounds. John Collins had 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Atlanta was outscored 28-16 in the first quarter and could not recover.
Ben Simmons led the way for the 76ers in the win at Houston as he recorded 24 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Joel Embiid had 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Timothe Luwante-Cabarrot had 17 points off the bench. Dario Saric added 14 points and six rebounds. Philadelphia led by two at halftime and outscored the hosts 34-24 in the third quarter to provide cushion for the victory.
The over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings.
Philadelphia looks like it has the roster assembled to finally once again make a run at an Eastern Conference playoff spot, while Atlanta is in full rebuild mode and is looking at a high 2018 first round draft pick. But the Hawks at least have Schroder and Prince, a couple of pieces to build around. Now that Schroder is back on the court and getting healthier by the day after dealing with an ankle injury, Atlanta once again looks like a formidable basketball team. Wipe away a bad start against the Bucks and they played even the rest of the way. We like the Hawks in this spot taking the points.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: ATLANTA HAWKS +8.5