Game Time: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, March 10th, 2022 

Venue:  Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Where to Watch: TNT

DraftKings:  Spread:  76ers -4.5 O/U NL

Fanduel:  Spread:  76ers -4.5

BetMGM:  Spread: 76ers -4.5
O/U is only out at SportsIllustrated: O/U 222.5. / and POINTSBET has it at O/U 234

Nets: 33-33, 8th place Eastern Conference

76ers: 40-24, 2nd place Eastern Conference

This is the matchup we have been waiting for!  Ever since the trade?.. Nah.. all season.  This is an Eastern Conference battle with a real tune-in factor.  The West is almost decided.  The NBA’s Western Conference only has three teams to worry about: Suns, Warriors, Grizzlies… maybe the Clippers if everyone gets healthy on that squad.  The East though!  The East has 6 teams that could make and win the NBA Finals if everything breaks for them in the way of health and matchups.  The Brooklyn Nets are fighting to prove that everything will break for them.  The 76ers are already there with everything breaking the right way.  The Brooklyn Nets have the league’s best scorer (or so they say) in Kevin Durant, they have the league’s best part-time player in Kyrie Irving, and they have the league’s worst teammate in Ben Simmons… but he plays pretty good when he plays.  The 76ers have the League’s best tandem of players hands down!  The 76ers have C Joel Embiid for whom the process was named and is finally working.  The 76ers have former MVP James Harden who scores and assists at an all-star level all the time.  Joel and James are perfect.  Joel and James are peanut butter and chocolate, Joel and James are lobster and melted butter, Joel and James are Champagne and that lady you like.  Joel and James compliment each other while shining alone.  A dominant big man and an all-star guard?... Has that ever worked?  Oh yeah… it has worked every time it has been employed in NBA history.  The problem with Nikola Jokic and Championships is that he doesn’t have his guard and that guard isn’t good enough when he is there.  The Nets would like this game and need this win.  The 76ers would like to punish Ben Simmons even though Ben will be hiding somewhere in the arena out of eyesight.

The Brooklyn Nets have won 4 of their last 10 games.  They are 5-5 ATS during that stretch.  They also went 7 Overs and 3 Unders.  Ben Simmons has stated that he wants to be “there” for this game.  He won’t be playing because he can’t take that, but he will try to sustain the boos and catcalls from the bench.  His teammates SF Kevin Durant and PG Kyrie Irving are good enough to win the game on their own.  They will have to.  This is a team that lost to the Boston Celtics, lost to the Miami Heat, and lost to the Toronto Raptors twice in their last five games. They keep telling us that the trade worked and Durant returning from injury will propel them… but c’mon.  What are the Nets?  Not going forward but right now?  The Nets are a team that is working in an All-star after injury and getting him to work with a PG who decided not to play most of the season because the earth is flat.  After those guys…. It’s all role players who are learning from each other.  PG Kyrie Irving scored 54 pts in the last game which was a win over the Charlotte Hornets.  Kyrie set a record of sort for FG% in a 50 point game.  Kyrie is great!  Kyrie doesn’t always play or play at that level depending on how angry or upset he is.  Who knows how he will feel against a booing crowd in Philly… and whether he will test negative in his pregame test that is mandated for unvaccinated players.  The Nets are a good team that offers nothing to root for.

The 76ers have won 8 of their last ten games.  They have risen from 4th in the standings to 2nd.  They went 6-4 ATS during that stretch.  They are 5-1 since adding James Harden through trade.  They have logged 6 Overs and 4 Unders during that stretch.  The 76ers have everything they need.  We all know about SG James Harden who can bring you a double double in points and assists every night he plays.  We all know about C Joel Embiid who is the real deal MVP candidate… but outside of those guys?... The 76ers have a real deal winning NBA team.  PG Tyrese Maxey is a breakout player this season: 17.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, and 4.5 apg.  The guy played so well that the franchise hardly blinked while trading Ben Simmons… This kid is a great 2nd year point guard who can and will shoot the ball.  SG Matisse Thybulle has moved to SF, his numbers on offense are small.  His defensive presence is felt all over the court… at 1 block and 2 steals a game he commands respect… but also the sheer number of deflections and disruptions are noticeable to the naked eye.  PF Tobias Harris who has moved over from SF is often cited for being “overpaid”... that is a truck of junk.  Tobias lodges 17.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, and 3.5 apg… find me any other team in the league that is getting those numbers out of their 3rd highest paid player and legitimate 3rd option?… I’ll wait.

Al McMordie was 6-1 yesterday, including a PERFECT 3-0 on his NBA Triple Pack with the Spurs, Heat and Mavericks getting the $$$$. Big Al's now 13-3 his last 16 NBA; 58-33 his last 91, overall; and is also 22-9 his last 31 Triple Packs. Get your broom ready for another 3-0 SWEEP! Hop on board right now!  Get Big Al’s picks!   You can discover the best  picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB, college football… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

The Nets are 33-33 on the season, but 26-38-2 ATS.  They have logged 34 Overs, 31 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 20-15 in road games.

The 76ers are 40-24 on the season, but 32-31-1 ATS.  They have notched 28 Overs, 34 Unders, and 2 Push.  They are 19-13 in home games.

The Nets are 12th in scoring with 111.1 ppg, 19th in rebounds with 44.2 per game, and 12th in AST/To ratio with 1.8.  On defense they rank a lowly 22nd while allowing 112.0 ppg from opponents.  

The 76ers are 19th in scoring with 108.5 ppg, 30th in rebounds with 42.1 per game, and 9th in AST/To ratio with 1.9.  On defense they rank 7th while allowing 106.2 ppg from opponents.

Our prediction for Thursday, March 10th is…. 76ers 123 - Nets 118

This is a matchup of James Harden and Joel Embiid Versus Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.  There is a problem inherent in comparing these two duos in that Kyrie Irving has already given us the answer.  Whe James Harden joined the Nets during the off-season…. Kyrie “volunteered” to move to shooting guard… because James Harden was a much better point guard… The problem with thi admission is of course… James Harden is a much better shooting guard than Kyrie also.   When Kyrie deferred to James he was admitting something… James Harden is a better guard and player than Kyrie.  Now there is no way to accurately compare KD and Joel Embiid as they do wildly different things on a basketball court… of course KD is not in the MVP discussion and Joel Embiid is.  The bet is on the 76ers to win and cover the spread… Kyrie has already told us as much.

Brooklyn is 29-19 ATS versus Philly since 1996.

(it goes down from there)

Brooklyn is 0-8 ATS after a road win by 10 points or more this season.

Brooklyn is 10-22 ATS after a win this season.

Philly is 62-46 ATS after an Under the last 3 seasons.

Nets: C Lamarcus Aldridge (hip) Out ** SG Joe harris (ankle) Out ** SG Ben Simmons (mental) Out

76ers: PF Paul Milsap (personal) Quest ** SG Danny Green (finger) Out  

Nets: SF Bruce Brown, PF Kevin Durant, C Andre Drummond, PG Kyrie Irving, SG Seth Curry

76ers: PF Tobias Harris, SF Matisse Thybulle, C Joel Embiid, PG Tyrese Maxey, SG James Harden

Nets

Points: Kevin Durant 29.1

Assists: James Harden 10.2

Rebounds: Andre Drummond 9.4

Steals: James Harden 1.3

Blocks: Nic Claxton 1.1

76ers

Points: Joel Embiid 29.7

Assists: James Harden 12.4

Rebounds: Joel Embiid 11.2

Steals: Matisse Thybulle 1.7

Blocks: Joel Embiid 1.4 

Nets: Steve Nash

76ers: Doc Rivers