The 76ers put up a valiant effort in Game 1, but an injury to their superstar Joel Embiid cost them the series opener. Now, they find themselves in a difficult spot down 1-0 and with their best player questionable to play. Tyrese Maxey tried to pick up the slack with 33 points, but the Sixers will need way more from their others if Embiid doesn’t play here. In order to win this series now, Philadelphia has to win 4 of the next 6 games and I’m just not sure how realistic that is. In the last 5 meetings they’re just 1-4 ATS/SU vs the Knicks, we haven’t seen many teams come back from 2-0 deficits in Playoff series lately, so you could say that tonight’s game is a must win situation for Philly.
From the Knicks’ perspective things could not have gone better in Game 1. Despite a poor shooting game from Jalen Brunson they were still able to win, which is massive for a team that’s been hit by the injury bug in the last couple of months. Players like Bogdanovic, McBride and Hart all stepped up, more than making up for Brunson’s 8-for-26 performance from the field. Saturday’s win was New York’s 6th in a row overall, they’ve also now won 5 straight vs Atlantic Division opponents. They opened as 6.5 point favorites for Game 2, but that line has now gone down to 4.5 points, indicating a lot of action on the 76ers. Whether or not that is justified remains to be seen, but I am liking the Knicks chances here if Embiid isn’t able to play.
