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Joel Embiid is probable to play despite his hip injury. But he's coming off an ineffective 35 minutes Friday. In two games this series, Embiid is 10 for 28 from the field while averaging five rebounds and three assists. He sat out Game 2 and it was Philly's best performance vs. New York. With his team facing elimination, I'm confident Embiid will try to play. But I'll bet against the combination of minutes and efficiency he'll need to clear this prop total.
OG Anunoby is officially ruled out for the game this afternoon. The line is slightly moving back to the Sixers favor for them to keep their season alive. However, if New York wants to legitimately make a run at the title, they have to win today. That would give Anunoby more time to rest for the ECF’s as the Pistons/Cavs could, possibly, go six/seven games. Yeah, make the 6/7 joke. Even without Anunoby, New York is the much deeper team. Paul George starts out hot then fades away as the game progresses and Embiid will get tired which leaves the Sixers with few scoring options. Jalen Brunson is on a mission, biased or not, get the brooms out.
The New York Knicks have now rolled six straight playoff wins. Postseason is all about timing, and the Sixers used so much energy to take down the Celtics that they have ran out of gas. Both games two and three they had nothing in the tank with low output fourth quarters. As rare as it is to see a fourth seed complete a sweep, the Knicks do so here today. Back them on the moneyline.

Miles ‘Deuce’ McBride is still dealing with his pelvic injury. He has yet to score more than eight points in each of the last five games but his defensive presence is still there. Deuce has only hit more than one three once in his last five games while also hitting just one shot, total, in four of the same five games as well. You can expect Landry Shamet to get some more time this afternoon since he was the one who gave the Knicks energy when down big early in game three, taking away minutes from Deuce.

Mitchell Robinson has gone over four points in five of the last seven games. Joel Embiid is listed as probable which is better for Robinson to get over this number. Embiid isn’t at 100% while Robinson is and is more capable of grabbing boards and even another poster on Embiid as well. Even if the Sixers bring out hack-a-Mitch, Robinson should be able to get over this low number as he’s be another x-factor with New York over the last few playoffs.

Mikal Bridges has went under on his points total in 10 of the last 15 games. However, he’s gone over that number in four straight. With OG Anunoby most likely out this afternoon, Bridges usage and shot attempts should increase. Small forwards have seen success against the Sixers as the last five SF’s they’ve faced have gone over 17 points in five straight games.

Miles McBride got a Game 3 start with OG Anunoby out, and it didn’t go great. In 21 minutes, he registered a PRA of 5. In Game 2, he played 21 minutes off the bench and had a PRA total of 6. Landry Shamet replaced him in G3, got more minutes and was far more productive. It’s possible Shamet gets the bulk of action again, it’s even possible (as of this writing) that day-to-day Anunoby plays. McBride’s season PRA average was a solid 15, but it’s not going well at the moment and stars take over in the playoffs.

With a 3-0 series lead in hand, there is no reason for the Knicks to push OG Anunoby (hamstring) to play Sunday. Mikal Bridges stepped up with him out during Game 3, scoring 23 points over 37 minutes. Bridges had turned things around before Anunoby went down, scoring at least 17 points in each of the previous three games. This is a favorable spot for him to score at least 15 points.
Human nature for the Knicks to let up a bit -- I'll admit thought they would lose Game 3 without OG Anunoby. Can't imagine he plays today with a 3-0 lead. That would be stupid. I'm already so (pre) tired of hearing all these Knicks clowns with them in the East Finals much less if get to NBA Finals. That would be a disaster and I'll cancel ESPN for a month so I don't have to listen to Stephen A. just scream at the camera (I'll watch one of those shows maybe if you give me $5 million but only with ear muffs) when that dude gets every single prediction wrong. Not a fan. Bayless even less so if it's possible to go below zero.
It's hard to get in the way of a surging Knicks team that has won six in a row while going 5-1 ATS. But the 76ers moved the ball well in Game 3 at home and created tremendous, open looks. They just didn't make them, shooting 43 percent overall and 28 percent from deep. With the series all but over, Philly won't be feeling the pressure. Look for the 76ers to show some pride and avoid getting swept on their home floor.

We are going to continue riding Karl-Anthony Towns' assist prop as he is hitting it even in games in which he plays limited minutes due to foul trouble. KAT has 46 assists over the last six games, an average of 7.7 per game. He has 20 in 3 games in this series, not playing more than 27 minutes in any of the games, due to one blowout and two games with foul issues. Dating back to April 1 (13 games), he is averaging 6.3 a game, hitting 5+ in 9 of the 13 games.

DraftKings. Walking this line up a bit, but for good reason - Mikal Bridges looks like himself, and has been thrust into a role where his touches and shot attempts are up significantly for the Knicks. With New York leading 3-0, I doubt they have OG Anunoby play, and Karl-Anthony Towns has struggled to stay on the floor due to foul trouble. Bridges has served as the scoring complement to Jalen Brunson, the latter of whom will undoubtedly be the focal point of the Sixers defensive adjustments in Game 4. I have Bridges closer to 17 points in this one, so I’m very ok playing this line at over 15.5 for a full unit.







