Both the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers will be devoid of superstars when the teams collide under the lights of TNT’s nationally televised broadcast on Thursday night. The Sixers have been without the services of Joel Embiid since March 13. Even so, the team hasn’t skipped a beat in the five games he’s missed by going 4-1 SU and 3-1-1 ATS at online sportsbooks. The same can’t be said for the defending champs who struggled mightily with Anthony Davis out of the fold due to a calf injury that’s expected to keep him out until early April. Making matters even worse is the high ankle sprain suffered by LeBron James in a loss against Atlanta over the weekend. With LA’s primary scorers now sidelined, it’s going to be tough for Frank Vogel’s squad to continue vying for one of the top seeds in the Western Conference. Philly has owned the recent rivalry with LA in taking four of the last five meetings both SU and ATS, and they’ll be in position to sweep it in front of a nationally televised audience even with their stud big man riding the pine.
This potential NBA Finals preview is set to go down live on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. ET from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The game will be broadcast live on TNT. We'll have NBA odds available at BookMaker.eu for this and every game on Thursday’s abbreviated NBA slate.
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Odds Analysis
The first meeting between these clubs saw the Sixers pull out a slim 107-106 outright win and cover as 4-point home underdogs per the closing NBA odds. LBJ and “The Brow” combined for over 52 percent of the Lakers total scoring output. As for Philadelphia, it got 28 points and 6 rebounds from Embiid which amounted to 26 percent of the points and 16 percent of the 38 rebounds. With the trio not expected to suit up for this game, who is going to shoulder the load of the missing production? Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroeder combined for 45 points and 11 rebounds on Sunday night, but LA still went on to lose that game to the Suns by 17 points. Tobias Harris has taken his game to the next level in Embiid’s absence averaging 24.2 points and 7.8 rebounds which equates to 3.5 more points and .3 rebounds more than his seasonal averages. Targeting all three player’s props could lead to some ticket cashes in this one!
Philadelphia 76ers
A hat tip goes in the direction of the Sixers who’ve fended off adversity and stuck to their winning ways with their All-Star center down for the count. Though it went on to cough up what looked to be a surefire win at home against Milwaukee in overtime, the pair of wins against the division rival Knicks were impressive; as was the 134-99 and 129-105 beat downs of the Spurs and Kings respectively. As such, Philadelphia remains perched atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 30-13 overall record while attaining the third best cover mark in the league at 24-16-3 ATS. Though just 11-9 SU and 8-9-3 ATS overall as visitors, the 76ers have gone 6-2 SU and 4-2-2 ATS the last eight times linemakers installed it road chalk.
Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles is the owner of the No. 3 seed in the West with a 28-15 SU record (21-22 ATS). It trails Phoenix by one game for Pacific Division supremacy, but also loses out on the tiebreaker having lost both regular season matchups against the Suns. With third and sixth place only separated by 2.5-games, it’s certainly a possibility that the defending champs fall out of the top six seeds. That’s what makes LBJ’s recent ankle injury so tough to swallow with the team already struggling to stay above water with Davis sidelined since the middle of February. Though 14-9 SU overall, LA checks in just 10-13 ATS as hosts. Since Davis went down, LA’s been nothing but a .500 home team in going 5-5 SU and ATS with losses incurred to the Hawks, Suns, Wizards, Heat and Nets. In other words, playoff teams save for the Wizz.
Philadelphia vs. Los Angeles Prediction
I got a bad feeling it’s going to get even worse for the defending champs. With it still unknown as to the severity of LBJ’s ankle injury, we know it’s of the high variety and those could take upwards of two months until the ankle feels right again. Either way, the Lakers face a steep uphill climb right now and it’s going to be bumpy ride moving forward. LA’s roster was all about its two studs and the complimentary players were exactly just that. Now that they’re being asked to take on more of a primary role, I just don’t see this ending well. Philadelphia has won three straight as favorites on the road (2-0-1 ATS). Though they’ll be laying an inflated number in this spot, I’ll pay up to see if LA’s peanut gallery can keep up with Ben Simmons and company.
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