Daily Picks 12/27: Sixers To Take Fultz Advantage
In Thursday’s NBA games, Julius Randle finished with a game-high 33 points and eight rebounds for the New York Knicks in a 94-82 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Christian Wood had 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists, Blake Griffin added 14 points, 11 rebounds and four assists and Andre Drummond chipped in 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Detroit Pistons in a 132-102 victory over Washington Wizards.
Here’s a look at today’s NBA picks:
BET OF THE DAY:
Philadelphia 76ers @ Orlando Magic
- The 76ers have a 107-86 against the spread record as an away team, coming off one day of rest since the 2010-11 NBA season. (Stat courtesy of Statschecker)
The Sixers will roll into Orlando on a three-game winning streak.
In their last game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas, Joel Embiid finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a 121-109 victory.
Tobias Harris added 22 points, four rebounds and two assists, and Ben Simmons chipped in 15 points, 14 assists, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
The Magic are coming off a win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
Terrence Ross finished with a season-high 26 points to lead Orlando to a 103-95 win to end a three-game losing skid.
Philadelphia will look to keep its winning streak going in this matchup.
Take the Sixers minus the 2.5 points here.
2u – 76ers (-2.5) @ -105
Indiana Pacers @ Miami Heat
- Since the 2017-18 season, the Pacers have a 6-1 against the spread record against the Heat. (Stat courtesy of Statschecker)
The Pacers and Heat will square off in their first meeting of the 2019-20 season on Friday.
Indiana will look to make it back-to-back wins. In the last game against the Toronto Raptors, T.J. Warren and Myles Turner finished with 24 points each in a 120-115 victory in overtime.
Miami, on the other hand, is on a three-game winning streak, which includes a victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
In that matchup, Jimmy Butler finished with 20 points while Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 12 rebounds in a 107-104 triumph.
The Heat are now 13-1 at home, which is by far the best home record in the NBA.
Indiana was 3-0 against the Heat last season and the Pacers have won six of their last seven games.
Yes, the Heat are one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, but the Pacers are the pick in this matchup.
Miami will win this game but take the Pacers plus the 5 points here.
1u – Pacers (+5) @ -110
Milwaukee Bucks @ Atlanta Hawks
- Since the 2016-17 season, the Hawks have a 10-3 against the spread record against the Bucks. (Stat courtesy of Statschecker)
The Bucks and Hawks have already played twice this season. The Bucks came away with wins in both games, however the Hawks lost by eight and nine points in each game.
On Nov. 20, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds and four assists and Eric Bledsoe added 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Bucks in a 135-127 win.
Seven days later, the Bucks got another monster performance from Antetokounmpo as he finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks in a 111-102 win.
Clearly, when these two teams square off, the Hawks give a game to the Bucks.
Yes, Milwaukee is the better team, and I do expect the Bucks to win this one, but Atlanta plus the 11 points at home is the pick here.
Take the Hawks plus 11 points.