Fans at Madison Square Garden get a special present on Christmas as the 76ers take on the Knicks. Kyle Wood makes his picks against the spread.
Watching the Knicks on Christmas is a bit like watching the Lions on Thanksgiving. It’s a holiday sports tradition, and both teams usually lose.
This year though, New York (and for its part, Detroit) is a much-improved team in the midst of a positive run and could give the 76ers some trouble at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks beat the Hawks on this day last year, their first appearance in the NBA’s midseason showcase after two years off. Philadelphia is also back on the big stage for the first time since 2019.
These teams faced off on Christmas five years ago and the Sixers came away with a win. And when they played in November, albeit with Joel Embiid and James Harden out, New York won, 106-104, at Wells Fargo Center.
Spread: 76ers -2.5 (-110) | Knicks +2.5 (-110)
Moneyline: 76ers (-133) | Knicks (+110)
Total: 218.5 — Over (-110) | Under (-110)
Time: 12 p.m. ET (ABC, ESPN)
There are three notable rotation players on the injury report: Knicks guard Quentin Grimes (ankle), who is day-to-day, Knicks forward Obi Toppin (knee) and 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (foot), who are both out. Philadelphia hosts the Clippers on Friday before heading up to New York, which gets the Bulls at home that same night.
Editor's Note: All stats, records and odds are current through Dec. 23
Straight-Up Record: 18–12
Against The Spread Record: 17–12–1
Over/Under Record: 15–15
Points Per Game (Rank): 111.2 (19)
Points Allowed Per Game (Rank): 107.4 (2)
Straight-Up Record: 18–14
Against The Spread Record: 17–13–2
Over/Under Record: 14–17–1
Points Per Game (Rank): 114.4 (13)
Points Allowed Per Game (Rank): 111.7 (11)
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The 76ers lost James Harden’s first game back from a month-long injury absence and are 6–0 since. Each of those wins have come at home, where Philadelphia is 13–5 compared with its 5–7 mark on the road. December has been good to the team overall, which has upped its play on offense with its All-Stars once again sharing the court.
Harden’s 20.7 points, 10.7 assists averages since his return have contributed to the team’s 6–2 record in December, but Joel Embiid, the league’s leading scorer who’s averaging 35.0 points and 10.4 rebounds this month, deserves the lion’s share of the credit. Opponents have had no answer for the big man who punishes them from deep (55% in December on 2.5 attempts per game) and at the free throw line (88.5% on 12.0 attempts).
Even with such a strong force on offense, the 76ers’ No. 2 defensive rating is the metric that has the team among the top six seeds in the East and allowed it to weather the absence of Harden and Maxey. Philadelphia is No. 1 three-point percentage defense and allows the second-fewest made threes to opponents. Plus the Sixers counter that on offense with the fourth-best three-point percentage in the league.
One area where Philadelphia does get beat is on the boards. It ranks 26th in rebounding differential where New York is sixth.
Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports
A loss Wednesday to the Raptors ended New York’s eight-game winning streak, but it still enters the holiday weekend as one of the hottest teams in basketball. The Knicks, who are top 10 in offensive and defensive rating, had four different leading scorers across their run: Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, R.J. Barrett and Emmanuel Quickley. The first three average 19.7 points or better and Quickley adds to that with a double-digit scoring average.
It’s been an all-around effort to turn things around at the Garden and much of it can be traced to the offseason addition of Brunson, a true floor general. Randle’s improved play has also been huge for this team as he’s more or less regained his 2020 All-Star form.
New York hovered around .500 for much of the year before its recent string of wins, some of which have come against sub-.500 teams or shorthanded squads, but eight in a row is eight in a row. The Knicks are also bearing down on the 76ers in the standings, which adds extra meaning to this showcase contest.
This game could serve as validation that New York is a player in the East and the last few weeks have been no fluke. That’s the side that I find myself on ahead of this matchup, even though the Knicks are just 1–3–1 against the spread as a home underdog. (Those losses came against the Celtics, Grizzlies and Mavericks.) They also went undefeated against the spread across their winning streak, another impressive feat.
Embiid is 14–1 in his career against the Knicks, who don’t have what it takes to slow down his devastating scoring run. I expect New York to keep it close, but Philadelphia to ultimately come out on top in a slow-paced game.
BET: Knicks +2.5 (-110), Under 218.5 (-110)
