Philadelphia 76ers vs New York Knicks Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 01/03/2022, 22:08  by Joseph King | Modified on 02/03/2022 at 04:08 in NBA Predictions

The Philadelphia 76ers will look to win back to back games against the New York Knicks when they meet up at the Wells Fargo Center for this Eastern Conference clash. The Knicks are in a complete free fall at the moment and there are serious rumblings about firing head coach Tom Thibodeau. The team, in turn, have not responded in a manner that befits a team fighting for their coach to keep his job. New York have now lost five straight and nine of their last 10 - a stretch which has absolutely tanked their record to 25-36 and places them 12th in the East. The 76ers, on the other hand, have been enjoying a great season. With the addition of former MVP James Harden and with Joel Embiid looking like this year's MVP, Philadelphia have become serious title contenders. Their record is 37-23 which places them third in the East, just three games off the top seed trailing the Miami Heat. 

This game is the second of a double header between the two teams, with the 76ers recording a comfortable win in a 125-109 blowout win at Madison Square Garden in New York. Given both teams performances as of late, we could see a very similar result in this one. James Harden has played two games with his new team and looks to have slotted in seamlessly. Harden put up a triple double in the win over New York with 29 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds while Embiid kept up his MVP pace dropping in 37. Embiid is the NBA’s leading scorer, averaging 29.8 points per game, and is truly unguardable. New York will most likely be powerless to stop the Philadelphia center from putting up similar numbers, as the usually gritty Thibodeau defense has been averaging 119.4 points allowed over their last seven games, much higher than their season average of 107.