2 min read • February 27, 2022
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Two teams that are trending in opposite directions, the 76ers and the Knicks, meet Sunday morning at Madison Square Garden.
Check out this matchup's Court View here.
This will be the second game of the James Harden and Joel Embiid tandem. Both stars are nursing minor ailments, with Harden’s notorious hamstring being more potentially tedious than Embiid’s wrist.
Despite both issues lingering heading into the all-star break, with Harden missing 7 straight games, we see no issue for the bearded bane of a defender's existence.
Philadelphia is an otherwise remarkably healthy team, posting a 93.6 SIC score heading into the contest.
The Knicks, meanwhile, will go into the game without 3 of their top 5 rotational guards this season in Kemba Walker, Derrick Rose, and Quentin Grimes, pushing their SIC score to an 82.9.
The Knicks are a tad healthier than they were before the all-star break with RJ Barrett – who scored 46 points on 22 shots with 9 rebounds on Friday night – and Nerlens Noel recovered and available for Tom Thibodeau.
Still, New York's biggest disadvantage will be relying on the undermanned backcourt rotation of Alec Burks, Evan Fournier, and Immanuel Quickley to contend with Harden and the explosive Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey is averaging 20 points on 52.1% shooting in the last 10 games, and projects to get even easier looks with defenses keying on Harden and Embiid.
The injury advantage lies with the Sixers, with betting value apparent across the board:
76ers/Knicks O217 Points
Tyrese Maxey O15.5 Points
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