Brooklyn Nets (20-8) vs Philadelphia 76ers (15-13)
Game Info: Thursday, December 16, 2021 at 7:30 pm (Barclays Center)
Betting Odds: Brooklyn Nets -1 -- Over/Under: Click Here for the Latest Odds
The Brooklyn Nets play host to the Philadelphia 76ers at the Barclays Center on Thursday night.
The Philadelphia 76ers have been in a bit of a rut as they’ve lost three of their past four games and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after getting stopped by the Heat in a 101-96 home loss last night. Tyrese Maxey led the team with 27 points and five assists on 11 of 15 shooting, Tobias Harris added 24 points on nine of 18 shooting while Joel Embiid chipped in with 17 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, but no other player finished in double figures in scoring. As a team, the 76ers shot just 44 percent from the field and 12 of 37 from the 3-point line as they struggled right from the start, scoring just 18 points in the first quarter to fall behind by double-digits early, before coming up short in the fourth quarter after cutting the deficit to just two points with 2:40 remaining.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets have been in great shape as they’ve won 10 of their past 13 games and they will be aiming for a fourth straight victory after outlasting the Raptors in a 131-129 overtime home win on Tuesday. Kevin Durant led the team with a triple-double of 34 points with 13 rebounds and 11 assists, Patty Mills drained seven 3-pointers on his way to 30 points while Kessler Edwards provided the spark off the bench with 17 points and 10 rebounds. As a team, the Nets shot 48 percent from the field and 14 of 39 from the 3-point line as they rallied back from an 11-point deficit to force overtime on a clutch 3-pointer from Mills, before escaping with the narrow win on free throws.
Looking at the betting trends, the 76ers are 5-2-1 ATS in their last eight games as an underdog, 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12 games against a team above .600 and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall. The Nets are 0-6 ATS in their last six home games, 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games as a favorite and 0-6 ATS in their last six games as a home favorite.
Head to head, the over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings overall.
The 76ers will be without Furkan Korkmaz, Grant Riller and Georges Niang, while the Nets will be without De’Andre Bembry and James Harden who have both entered league health and safety protocols. The 76ers are coming into this game a little banged up and low on confidence, but they might be catching the Nets at a good time as they are without Harden for this one. This should be a close one, but the 76ers are playing this one on zero days’ rest, so I’m leaning towards the Nets to get the win in this spot.