NBA Free Premium Play 04/14: Boston Celtics @ Philadelphia 76ers

Boston  at Philadelphia

NBA - 501 Boston Celtics @ 502 Philadelphia 76ers ***FREE Premium Play*** In this contest, I expect the 76ers to have more “desire” to win than the Celtics... BOS’s record is 25-55 and with the Jazz facing the Lakers tonight, this could be a “key” game for the Celtics “tanking” race while the 76ers will end w/ the second worst record in the league. Note that there are several Celtics’ players that will miss this contest… The 76ers have been more competitive lately. Their Off. Rtg. In L5 games is a nice 110.6 mark as they are attacking the rim quite well. This bodes well for them tonight because the Celtics’ interior defense has been non-existent lately – they are allowing 49 points in the paint in L6 games! Also, not long time ago, the 76ers went to BOS and won the game outright despite being underdogs by double digits points! My fair line for this contest is PHI-1 and so, we have the proper edge to play the 76ers in here! Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 502 Philadelphia 76ers (+2.5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline

NBA Free Premium Play 04/05: Brooklyn Nets @ Philadelphia 76ers

Brooklyn  at Philadelphia

NBA - 805 Brooklyn Nets @ 806 Philadelphia 76ers Play #4 My fair line for this contest is 212 points and actually, this play was close to be a Top Play. The Nets will play tonight their 4th game in 5days but all the previous 3 contests were @NY area and they are coming from an easy win vs. DET where 12 BKN players logged some time, so this isn’t a dreadful “physical” spot for them! The good news is that BKN’ offense is really killing vs. bad defensive teams.  They tend to play @ slow pace but they can push the pace vs. up tempo teams like PHI. Note that they scored 20 fast break points vs. PHX, 14 vs. DAL, 19 vs. MIN or 15 vs. HOU! In this potential run and gun game vs. bad PHI defense, I expect them to easily score +108 points… In the first 3 H2H’s games, they scored 130, 120 and 108 points! Obviously, the key question for this contest is related w/ PHI offense vs. BKN defense. First of all, we are dealing w/ a confident PHI team that has won 2 of their L4 games. BKN isn’t a great shot blocking team, so I expect 76ers to have some decent points at the rim. Also, BKN’s backcourt is slow footed and also, we can expect PHI to score some easy transition points and that’s why I’m taking the Over in here! Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 805/806 Over 208 @ -110 / 1.91 on 5 Dimes

NBA Free Premium Play 01/29: Philadelphia 76ers @ Boston Celtics

Philadelphia  at Boston

NBA - 705 Philadelphia 76ers @ 706 Boston Celtics Play #3 My play w/ PHI+5 last Monday against the Suns really didn’t have a chance once the game started, as PHX offense was just too much for PHI. However, note that offensively, PHI was able to explore PHX’s undersized frontcourt and scored 56 points while they were effective on transition w/ 19 fast break points & 9-15 FG 1.23 PPP. Their problem obviously was on the defensive end because PHX’s guards Dragic + Green simply couldn’t miss a shot: 9-13 FG & 10-12 FG w/ combining 7-9 3pts and PHX as a team = 9-20 3pts for 45% mark. The good news for today is that PHI will face a Celtics team that is struggling to hit outside shots right now. Against the awful perimeter D of NYK last night, BOS went just 6-22 3pts and actually, they are shooting just 27.6% 3pts in L10 games (ranked dead last in the league), so PHI’s defense won’t be crushed in the same way they were vs. PHX. BOS defense has been getting worst as the season progresses… they are allowing 45 points in the paint in L5 games & 65% FG at the rim.  Something quite normal if we just look for their starting lineup @NYK last night: Rondo, Green, Wallace, Bass and Sullinger – no interior defense and so, PHI’s offense will be able to attack the rim and generate some easy points. Rondo is OUT for tonight and BOS is really shorthanded on the wings & this is a back to back game! I expect this contest to be a tight game and therefore, we have some value w/ PHI+4 in my opinion. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 705 Philadelphia 76ers (+4) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 01/18: Philadelphia 76ers @ Chicago Bulls

Philadelphia  at Chicago

NBA - 507 Philadelphia 76ers @ 508 Chicago Bulls Play #4 CHI is going to face a real tough physical spot for tonight’s contest. They had a brutal triple OT game vs. ORL this last Wednesday in which J. Butler played 60 minutes, Noah 49 minutes or Gibson 43 minutes, and last night they were involved in another close battle @WAS, so this is going to be their 3rd game in 4 nights w/ traveling in every game. This is not the case w/ PHI as they clearly lost vs. MIA last night in a game that basically was over already in the first half, and so, their coach decided to “rest” his best players for tonight’s game. PHI offense committed 23 TO’s vs. MIA which wasn’t a surprise for me b/c one of my key factors for my MIA-10 play was their aggressive ball handler pressure defense vs. PHI's offense prone to commit TO’s. Michael Carter-Williams struggled heavily w/ just 7 points & 5 TO’s against MIA’s defense: "I think they were changing up the defense a lot," said Carter-Williams, who nearly triple-doubled with nine steals vs. Miami in his season debut. "Last time, they were really hard hedging. This time, they mixed it up. I got confused sometimes. I just have to learn from it, be better prepared and adjust next time. The good news is that CHI’s defense doesn’t have the same aggressiveness vs. ball handler, and actually I expect MCW to have a decent offensive game vs. Hinrich and Augustin. PHI has been outgunned by their opponents who are taking advantage of PHI’s fast pace to torch them from the outside & transition, but the Bulls aren’t build to explore such PHI’s weaknesses – they are #3 “worst” fast break offensive team in the league w/ just 9.5 fast break pts per game. I’m not saying that PHI will win this contest but we are dealing w/ a blowout line and I expect PHI to be competitive in this particular matchup & bad physical spot for CHI. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 507 Philadelphia 76ers (+8.5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 01/04: Philadelphia 76ers @ Portland Trail Blazers

Philadelphia  at Portland

NBA - 515 Philadelphia 76ers @ 516 Portland Trail Blazers Play #6 PHI has been healthy lately and their aggressive offensive style has been pretty efficient in the L3 games as they have scored 111, 114 and 113 points. I went w/ OVER in their last game @SAC and despite losing the play, the 76ers did their part by scoring 113 points and posting almost 115 Off. Rtg. They are focused in attacking the rim and pushing the pace to score in transition: L7 games they averaged 17.9 fast break points per game & 54.6 points in the paint. The good news for them tonight is that the Blazers have the worst paint defense in the league allowing 48.9 points in the paint per game. Also, POR transition defense lately has been subpar by allowing 16, 17, 20, 13 and 19 fast break points in L5 games, so in a run and gun game, I expect PHI offense to keep rolling… We can say the same thing for the Blazers offense that is coming from a 134-points explosion in their last game vs. CHA. PHI defense is awful all around but especially on the perimeter. Luckily for them, in L2 games they allowed only 5-25 & 7-23 3pts but note that they have faced DEN & SAC that are ranked #19 & #23 in 3pts shooting…the Blazers are just the best team in the league from behind the line and they are coming from a 21-33 3pts performance! In the first h2h, the Blazers just torched PHI bad perimeter defense w/ 21-37 3pts while scoring 139 points! PHI was able to score well in the first half before fading away in the 2nd half (they scored 41 points) but note that they were playing @b2b nights and MCW was OUT due to an injury! My fair line for this contest is 226/228 points so despite this “high” totals line, I really think we have some edge w/ the Over! Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 515/516 Over 223.5 @ -110 / 1.91 on 5 Dimes

NBA 12/14 Free Premium Play: Portland Trail Blazers @ Philadelphia 76ers

Portland  at Philadelphia

NBA - 509 Portland Trail Blazers @ 510 Philadelphia 76ers Play #3 I have a small lean on the 76ers tonight (full game) but because this is a bad spot for them (b2b w/ 3 games in 4 nights) I rather prefer playing them in the first half as the most likely scenario is the Blazers having a strong 2nd half. First of all, despite being “rested”, I don’t like the spot that the Blazers is going for this contest. This is the first game of their road trip, so they made a huge trip POR -> PHI, also, they are coming from a huge effort last game against the Rockets at home! Against the lowly 76ers, I don’t expect the Blazers to be 100% focused, especially early on the game. The 76ers are struggling to hit their outside shots due to their evident lack of talent, but they can be a dangerous offensive team in transition & attacking the rim. The Blazers have been a poor interior defensive team all season; they are ranked #26 in points in the paint allowed w/ 45.6 ppg so the 76ers will have a good matchup in this particular area. Also, the potential laziness of the Blazers defense will be noticed on transition (lack) defense. The 76ers defense is allowing almost 70% FG at the rim L10 games but the Blazers are mainly a jump shooting team so they won’t totally explore PHI’s biggest weakness early on the game. Eventually they will adjust @ half time and also take advantage of the tired legs of PHI players but again, I’m taking the 76ers just to be competitive in the first half! Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 510 Philadelphia 76ers (+6.5) FIRST HALF @ -115 / 1.87 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 12/11: Philadelphia 76ers @ Minnesota Timberwolves

Philadelphia  at Minnesota

NBA - 709 Philadelphia 76ers @ 710 Minnesota Timberwolves Play #3 Yesterday I took Minnesota to win at Detroit for an easy win, as the Wolves with their uptempo game completely explored Detroit's lack of speed in the front with 10-13 FG on cuts for a nhice 1.57 PPP! The Wolves also created nice look on the outside and Kevin Love was the key for that with 4-6 3pts! Minnesota is a great offensive team to watch whenever they are efficient from long range and last night was the case! Minnesota will now host Philadelphia and so, this game will involve a lot of running. After all, we are talking about two of the fastest paced teams in the league. Philadelphia's defense won't be able to stop Minnesota down low, on transition and on 3pts shooting! I took the Over on the Sixers' last game and I lost big, but it wasn't because suddenly the Sixers started to defend well. In fact, it was because the Clippers couldn't hit a single outside shot with a terrible 1-10 on corner treys! Philadelphia is indeed struggling to be effective on long range with a combined of 12-64 (19%) 3pts on their last three games! However, they have a good transition game and know how to attack the rim well, two areas where Minnesota's defense struggles, as they are #25 in the league with 15.2 fast break points allowed per game and #27 in points in the paint allowed with 45.7! So, this is also a good spot for a decent offensive game from Philadelphia! Minnesota is coming from a nice win and they will score so easily today that they will relax on defense, turning this game into a very high scoring contest. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 709/710 Over 209 @ -110 / 1.91 on 5Dimes

NBA Free Premium Play 12/09: Los Angeles Clippers @ Philadelphia 76ers

LA Clippers  at Philadelphia

NBA - 701 Los Angeles Clippers @ 702 Philadelphia 76ers Play #1 A healthy and a confident Clippers team would crush the 76ers on the offensive end. The 76ers are a poor defensive team in defending P&R’s, spot up and transition plays and on these 3 areas while pushing the pace in every opportunity and the Clippers are a great offensive team in all these areas. However, the Clippers are banged up especially on the perimeter and obviously their outside shooting has been inconsistent and erratic lately. In 3 of their last 4 games, they shot 4-15, 4-19 and 7-35 behind the arc – a truly awful 15-69 mark (21.7 %!). Their best game was @MEM but still they only played sharp offensive basketball in the second half. The 76ers lost their last game against the Nuggets at home where they ran out of gas in the second half, something normal considering they were playing @b2b and they really don’t have a lot of depth. Like the Clippers, they are struggling mightily to shoot from the outside, 27-95 (28.4%) 3pts L4 games but at least they are attacking the rim with no mercy: L4 games their vol% of shots at the rim were incredible – 41, 33, 47 and 47%! The good news for them is that LAC isn’t a good team protecting the rim, they are allowing 65% FG and without any real good backups I don’t expect that to change dramatically so the 76ers have a good spot to score easy points down low. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 701/702 Over 208,5 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 12/07: Denver Nuggets @ Philadelphia 76ers

Denver  at Philadelphia

NBA - 501 Denver Nuggets @ 502 Philadelphia 76ers Play #2 Denver is coming from a loss at Boston, where they had a terrible start of the game. Their offense was terrible with even some missed dunks, while the defense was non-existent. Then, after being down by more than 20 points early in the game, the Nuggets made a comeback and they were just 3 points down in the third quarter, but they just couldn't win at the end. It looks like Coach Brian Shaw was so pissed by his team's performance in the first half that he didn't even go to the locker room at half time! The Nuggets will be on the worst possible spot tonight, as they will play their fourth game in five days, while being also on a back to back spot. They are 0-3 this season on this spot with losses at Portland, Houston and Cleveland, but the good news is that Denver used 10 players yesterday and all of them played at least 15 minutes. On the other side, Philadelphia lost at Charlotte last night, but the Sixers didn't rotate their players like Denver did. In fact, Evan Turner played 40 minutes and Tony Wroten 35 minutes, so they may struggle tonight on a back to back uptempo game. Denver will be like fish on water on the Sixers' fast tempo pace. Philadelphia is #2 on transition volume, while Denver is #6. However, Philadelphia is #29 on efficiency in this kind of play with 0.98 PPP, while Denver is #10 with 1.13 PPP! On these last two games, Denver's frontcourt was outplayed and their post up defense has been struggling lately, however Philadelphia is the wrong team to explore that. The Sixers shoot a lot of treys per game, but with little efficiency, while Denver will also have a rebound edge tonight that will allow them to run in transition quite a lot in here. Therefore, I believe in a strong bounce back spot for the Nuggets tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 501 Denver Nuggets (-6,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 12/03: Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers

Orlando  at Philadelphia

NBA - 501 Orlando Magic @ 502 Philadelphia 76ers Plays #1 & 2 Orlando had a complete no show yesterday at Washington, who once again struggled with their second unit. Glen Davis was completely inefficient, while Nikola Vucevic got injured mid-game. Orlando struggled with the ball handling with 18 turnovers and Jameer Nelson's absence was a considerable blow for them on this area, as Victor Oladipo played at their primary PG and they struggled. These two teams faced each other recently and I took Philadelphia in that game, as Orlando was in a bad spot and Philadelphia would have a clear backcourt edge with Michael Carter-Williams over Jameer Nelson. However, that game was marked with the huge mismatch that Orlando had on frontcourt against a Sixers defense that really missed Spencer Hawes. Orlando had 52 points in the paint, with Glen Davis, Nikola Vucevic and Andrew Nicholson shooting a combined of 24-35 (68%) FG and grabbing 26 rebounds. However, Vucevic is likely out for tonight, while Hawes will play, so Orlando won't have the same frontcourt edge tonight. Philadelphia is coming from two games where they got crushed by New Orleans and Detroit, where they allowed 121 and 115 points. These two teams are elite transition teams and they exposed the Sixers with 25 and 20 fast break points. While the Pelicans and the Pistons are ranked #4 and #3 respectively on volume in transition plays, Orlando is just #22 in the league on this area, so Philadelphia's defense will have a better matchup today to make a defensive bounce back. With the Sixers being focused to make a defensive bounce back tonight and with Orlando's frontcourt missing Vucevic deeply, I believe this won't be the typical wild game involving the Sixers and so, I'll be taking the Under in here. As I expect Philadelphia to have a good matchup and spot to get revenge over Orlando, I'll be also taking the Sixers in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 501/502 Under 206.5 @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 502 Philadelphia 76ers (-3,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 12/01: Philadelphia 76ers @ Detroit Pistons

Philadelphia  at Detroit

NBA - 505 Philadelphia 76ers @ 506 Detroit Pistons Play #1 Detroit is coming from a home loss against the Lakers due to a huge late choke by getting outscored 15-29 in the fourth quarter. Defensively, the Pistons got crushed once again via outside shooting. The Lakers didn't even try to attack the rim, they settled for jumpers and with success, as they shot 14-31 3pts, while scoring just 28 points in the paint. Detroit's offense was the complete opposite with an incredible 76 points in the paint and 31-53 FG at the rim! The Pistons also scored 25 fast break points. The Pistons will now host Philadelphia and this will be a tough matchup for Detroit, especially on defense. The Pistons struggled on their perimeter defense and even though Philadelphia isn't a very efficient team, they attempt a ton of treys plus they have Thaddeus Young and Spencer Hawes in the frontcourt who shoot a lot from the outside and who will force both Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond to get out of their comfort zone. Of course that on the other side, Detroit will have a mega edge down low against Philadelphia, who is coming from two games where they allowed 60 and 52 points in the paint. Both teams are also in the top 6 regarding fast break points, so this will be an uptempo game with both offenses outplaying the defenses. Therefore, I'll be taking the Over in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 505/506 Over 206 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 11/23: Philadelphia 76ers @ Indiana Pacers

Philadelphia  at Indiana

NBA - 703 Philadelphia 76ers @ 704 Indiana Pacers Play #1 Philadelphia is coming from an overtime home win against Milwaukee last night, where they recovered from a ten point deficit with two minutes to go on regulation to send the game into overtime. The Sixers' offense managed to be quite efficient and they ended the game shooting 57% FG, with 34 assists on 45 FG made! They were good on pick and rolls, spot ups, transitions, so it was indeed a great offensive performance from them. On the other hand, both Caron Butler and Ersan Ilyasova had monster games, something that shows Philadelphia's poor defense as well. Philadelphia also committed 26 turnovers, something that shows that they took so many risks on offense that they got exposed on defense as well. Indiana is coming from a win at Boston last night. The Celtics' offense looked good on the first half, with Jordan Crawford playing great and with the Celtics having a nice offensive flow. Then, right before halftime, rookie Kelly Olynyk got injured and the combination of Boston's relax mode in scoring easily against Indiana, the Pacers stepping it up in the second half and Kris Humphries replacing the injured Kelly Olynyk resulted in Boston scoring just 8 points on the third quarter, while committing 11 turnovers! Indiana ended the game with a good overall offensive performance with 47% FG and 21 fast break points. They also indeed managed to have a good edge down low with Luis Scola and David West scoring 17 points each. Therefore, tonight's game will be a back to back one for both teams. Note that Philadelphia's spot is tough as they went to overtime last night, while Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes played 39 minutes each. On these back to back spots, Philadelphia has been involved in high scoring games, as they beat Chicago 107-104 and lost to Cleveland 125-127 and to New Orleans 98-135. Indiana can be a good scoring team on transitions and this will be a good spot for them after having faced three slow paced teams in a row in Chicago, the NY Knicks and Boston that are ranked #18, #29 and #14 in pace factor respectively, while Philadelphia is #1. I expect this contest to be a fast paced affair, something that the Pacers aren't very used. especially given the matchups their opponents have been giving them lately. I expect Indiana to have a nice offensive game tonight against the Sixers' poor defense and so, I'll be taking the Over in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 703/704 Over 194 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 11/22: Milwaukee Bucks @ Philadelphia 76ers

Milwaukee  at Philadelphia

NBA - 503 Milwaukee Bucks @ 504 Philadelphia 76ers ***SPLIT THE WAGER*** Philadelphia without Thaddeus Young and with Michael Carter-Williams still banged up lack the offensive talent to compensate the terrible defense that they have. On their last game against Toronto, 40% of their offensive plays were isolations and transitions, something that shows us the state of their offense right now. Regarding their defense, any aggressive guard can have big games against them by penetrating into the basket and then the Sixers' poor team help defense allow their opponents to have big games from the outside. "When you don't have Thaddeus, do you go big ball, do you go small ball?" coach Brett Brown said. "When you play that type of judgment game, it gets harder to manage those periods." Milwaukee is finally having some players returning from injury. Both Caron Butler and Ersan Ilyasova are now back and the team is slowly getting healthy. On their last game against Portland, Luke Ridnour returned into the starting lineup, same with Caron Butler. However, I don't understand why Larry Drew refuses to start John Henson alongside Zaza Pachulia. The only positive thing coming from this decision is that the Bucks having two competent players in Henson and Ilyasova coming off the bench. Milwaukee was competent on their outside shooting against the Blazers with 7-15 FG from 16-23 feet and 5-14 3pts, but they were outrebounded, they committed more turnovers than Portland and allowed the Blazers to make 11 treys. For tonight's game, I like Milwaukee in here, given how much Philadelphia will be missing Thaddeus Young once again. Milwaukee's decent outside shooting will allow them to crush the Sixers' poor perimeter defense and Philadelphia without Young struggles a lot on offense by insisting too much on transitions, an area where Milwaukee's defense is good by allowing just 11.3 fast break points per game. Therefore, I'll be taking Milwaukee tonight. Split the wager! Pick: 1 unit on 503 Milwaukee Bucks ML @ +130 / 2.30 on Bookmaker Pick: 2 units on 503 Milwaukee Bucks (+3) @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline

NBA Free Premium Play 11/13: Houston Rockets @ Philadelphia 76ers

Houston  at Philadelphia

NBA - 703 Houston Rockets @ 704 Philadelphia 76ers Play #6 The last thing Houston needed was to play a double overtime game at home against Toronto while having half of their roster battling illness. Dwight Howard, James Harden, Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons all played more than 40 minutes. Perhaps the most interesting fact of this game for the future was that Coach Kevin McHale decided on half time to bench Omer Asik in the start of the second half and start Terrence Jones at the PF position. It looks like McHale is giving up on the idea of having both Howard and Asik on the lineup, better late than never! It's clear that the Rockets are incredibly banged up right now. Chandler Parsons played 48 minutes against the Raptors with back spasms and he doubted that he could play both games of the team's back to back games today and tomorrow. The same thing happens with James Harden and his sore feet.  Francisco Garcia is battling flu symptoms, while Omri Casspi is struggling with a knee injury. With Evan Turner scoring at least 18 points in every game this season and with all his potential opponents for tonight struggling physically, this might be a dream mismatch for Philadelphia tonight. Looking at how both teams play, this will be obviously a fast paced game.  Looking at the matchup between the Sixers' offense and the Rockets' defense, I believe that Houston will struggle if Kevin McHale insists in starting both Dwight Howard and Omer Asik on the frontcourt. Philadelphia' starting Center Spencer Hawes is someone who plays almost exclusively on the perimeter, while Thaddeus Young at the PF position is too quick for any Rockets' big men.  Philadelphia's offense focus on transition plays and pick and rolls led by rookie sensation Michael Carter-Williams, while Houston is the second worst team in the league in avoiding turnovers with a 17.1% TO/rate. The Rockets are indeed #3 in the league on transition defense, but I doubt that they will have the proper mindset and the physical conditions to actually defend well transition plays tonight. Regarding their pick and roll ball handler defense, it is quite weak especially on such poor physical spots as this one. Looking at Philadelphia's last game against San Antonio, what can they do better today against Houston that they couldn't against the Spurs? Well, first of all San Antonio committed just 12 turnovers, so Philadelphia could only score 16 points off turnovers in that game. I'm sure the Sixers will have more opportunities to score on this kind of situations tonight. But what made Philadelphia struggle so much on offense against San Antonio was their inability to make long range shots with just 1-15 FG from 16-23 feet and 5-19 3pts! This was a shame, as they did really well on scoring down low with 20-27 (74%) FG at the rim! I expect Philadelphia to bounce back on their long range shooting tonight. On the other hand, Philadelphia's defense had no chances against San Antonio's offense that used their sharp ball movement to torch the Sixers apart with 29 assists. That won't happen tonight, as Houston's season high in assists is just 21, while having a poor average of just 18.4 assists per game! Philadelphia's backcourt defense is surprisingly good and they are #5 in the league on pick and roll ball handler defense! Therefore, I expect them to be able to limit Houston's quite stagnant offense tonight. I believe this is a great spot to back Philadelphia and face Houston, a team that is on a poor physical spot tonight, and so, I'll be taking the Sixers in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 704 Philadelphia 76ers (+6) @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline

Philadelphia 76ers NBA Team Season Preview 2013-14

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

Season Review 2012/13:

Advanced Stats
	Numbers	Rank
Pace	91.0	20
Offense	102.0	26
Defense	102.0	15
Rebound	49.9	20

4 Factors
Offense	Numbers	Rank	Defense	Numbers	Rank
eFG%	48.1	21	eFG%	49.5	14
TO%	12.5	2	TO%	13.7	15
Reb%	24.9	24	Reb%	26.6	16
FT%	14.6	30	FT%	20.0	14

Monthly Performance
	Record	OffRtg	DefRtg
November	10-6	104.9	104.1
December	4-11	105.2	109.9
January	5-9	102.3	108.1
February	3-8	97.4	104.8
March	8-9	107.5	109.0
April	4-5	103.7	107.8

The 76ers were one of the biggest players in last season’s off-season when they managed to sign Andrew Bynum from the Lakers. Philadelphia had been one of the nicest surprises of the previous seasons with Doug Collins being considered as one of the best coaches in the league. They took advantage of Derrick’s Rose serious injury to upset the #1 seed Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, while they also gave a big fight to the Boston Celtics in the second round in a tight 7-game series.

With Bynum’s acquisition, the Sixers’ expectations raised exponentially. Before the start of the season, the oddsmakers gave Philadelphia a regular season line of 47 wins, turning them into one of the contenders to grab home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. They were also considered as a tough matchup for the reigning champions Miami Heat due to the tremendous size edge they would have at the center position with Andrew Bynum playing for them.

One way or another, Andrew Bynum was always going to be the team’s key for success and unfortunately, that was true but for the worst reasons. Once the Bynum circus started, it never stopped. Since incidents with bumper cars, weird hairdos, the truth is that Bynum didn’t play a single minute last season.

With no presence down low, Doug Collins had a tough job ahead of him, but the truth is that Philadelphia had a nice start of the season. By end November, they had a 10-6 record, but they couldn’t handle this kind of success for much longer. In fact, this good start of the season was only possible due to a very soft schedule, where they managed to get six wins against New Orleans, Toronto (twice), Cleveland, Phoenix and Charlotte.

Once the schedule got tougher, Doug Collins simply couldn’t prevent his team from losing games after games and Philadelphia had five consecutive losing months.

With Andre Iguodala’s trade to Denver, Jrue Holiday was the new team leader, even though he was just 22 years old. His minutes per game jumped to 37.5, while he had the double duty of being the team’s main scorer and playmaker, with him grabbing new career seasons on points (17.7 points/game) and assists (8.0 assists/game), but this didn’t come without more risk taking and Holiday also had a career high 3.7 turnovers per game.

Not only the 76ers lacked the proper depth on their roster to be competitive, as also Doug Collins didn’t trust in all his players: Evan Turner, Dorell Wright, Lavoy Allen and the rookie Arnett Moultrie were on his doghouse several times throughout the seasons. Collins kept overusing his starting lineup until the wheels came off. Jason Richardson had a season ending injury on January 18^th, while Jrue Holiday who was an All-Star couldn’t keep his level during the season high of the season, having poor numbers (39.7% FG and 6.7 assists per game) after the break.

At the end of the season, it was clear that Doug Collins didn’t have the proper conditions to remain in Philadelphia. The players “lost” all respect for him, while Collins didn’t have patience to coach them anymore as well, as it was clear when he threw his players under the bus several times throughout the season.

NBA Premium Play 04/12: Philadelphia 76ers @ Washington Wizards

NBA - 703 Philadelphia 76ers @ 704 Washington Wizards

Projected Line: Washington by 3 points

If both teams play with a similar effort tonight, this game will be a ballgame. Washington is playing without Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster, so they are very shorthanded on the perimeter right now. Of course they have John Wall, but besides him the rest of the backcourt is currently formed by Garrett Temple, A.J. Price, Cartier Martin and Chris Singleton. The Wizards are being very selfish on offense, with a poor ball sharing, with just 14, 19, 18 and 19 assists in four of their last five games. On the other side, Philadelphia got crushed at home against Atlanta on their last game, but the Hawks made a big effort in that game and completely outplayed the Sixers.

I believe tonight's matchup is a good one for Philadelphia to be competitive. John Wall versus Jrue Holiday is a nice matchup for both players to play well on offense, while Thaddeus Young will have a huge speed edge over Nene Hilario. The shorthanded Wizards's backcourt will also struggle to defend Evan Turner as well. Philadelphia got crushed on their last two games, but they saw Brooklyn exploring very well their size edge on that contest, while Atlanta was quite focused and had no problems in outplaying Philadelphia. This time, I expect the Sixers to be competitive against the Wizards, as the level and the current form of these two teams is quite similar. Therefore, I'll be taking the Sixers in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 703 Philadelphia 76ers (+6) @ -115 / 1.87 on Bovada

NBA Premium Play 04/10: Atlanta Hawks @ Philadelphia 76ers

NBA - 703 Atlanta Hawks @ 704 Philadelphia 76ers

Projected Line: Atlanta by 6 points

Philadelphia showed no resistance yesterday on their game against the Nets. Brooklyn's gameplan was to pound down low, while using their superior size on the frontcourt and Philadelphia simply folded. This is why Reggie Evans had 24 rebounds on his own, while the Sixers as a team had 34 rebounds. On the other hand, Brooklyn made 21 shots at the rim, while the Sixers made 30 shots overall! The Hawks had 3 days off to rest prior to tonight's game and on their last game, Atlanta showed little interest in San Antonio, as they rested Al Horford, Josh Smith and Kyle Korver, even though they ended up just losing that contest by two points. On the previous game to that one, they had clearly lost at home against Philadelphia, so this is a revenge game for them tonight. Atlanta is also still fighting for a good playoff seeding, they are healthy and so, I expect them to play better tonight than they did on their last game against the Sixers. In that game, Atlanta showed no effort and allowed Philadelphia to score 40 points in the first quarter! The Sixers were deadly from the 3pts line, while Atlanta shot just 5-17 3pts. Jeff Teague struggled in that game, while Devin Harris was out due to injury. With Harris back tonight, I expect Atlanta to get their revenge over Philadelphia and pick up a comfortable win tonight.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 703 Atlanta Hawks (-3) @ -115 / 1.87 on Betonline

NBA Free Premium Play 04/09: Philadelphia 76ers @ Brooklyn Nets

Philadelphia  at Brooklyn

NBA - 655 Philadelphia 76ers @ 656 Brooklyn Nets Projected Lines: 196 points Brooklyn has a big game tomorrow at Boston, so it's likely that the Nets will rest the banged up Joe Johnson today. In fact, I believe Brooklyn will relax tonight, as they will have their minds already in tomorrow's game. On the other hand, Philadelphia is one of the few losing teams that has been playing hard and so, they are being competitive against good teams. They crushed Atlanta on the road and then, they were competitive in the following night in Miami, until they ran out of energy in the fourth quarter, where they got outscored by 11-29! This isn't a good matchup for the Nets, as Philadelphia's best players are likely to have big games tonight. Jrue Holiday's and Evan Turner's speed will be tough for the slow footed Brooklyn's guards, while Thaddeus Young will be also a tough matchup for Reggie Evans, as even though Reggie has been amazing in grabbing rebounds, he doesn't have the necessary speed to defend someone like Young. This is why Philadelphia completely outplayed Brooklyn on the last game between these two teams, in a game where the Sixers won by 106-97! But on the other hand, of course Brook Lopez will have an edge over the Sixers's poor interior defense, while Deron Williams will also have a good scoring night given his current good form. Therefore, I expect a high scoring game in here and so, I'll be taking the Over in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 655/656 Over 191,5 @ -110 / 1.91 on 5Dimes

NBA Premium Play 03/30: Charlotte Bobcats @ Philadelphia 76ers

NBA - 505 Charlotte Bobcats @ 506 Philadelphia 76ers

Projected Line: 191 points

We have two teams in here that are coming from back to back games, where they heavily used their starters. Philadelphia still feels that they have a shot in going to the playoffs and so, Coach Collins wants to win at any cost, while Charlotte is using their starters a lot, as they have been competitive lately and Coach Dunlap is trying to get some decent results in order to avoid getting fired at the end of the season. That's why Kemba Walker played 41 minutes and Gerald Henderson 46 minutes yesterday in NY against the Knicks. Just like I've been mentioning for a while, the Bobcats's offense really needs their two main guards to perform well in order to be remotely competitive. That happened last night with Henderson having 9-16 FG, 35 points and 15-17 FT! Now on a back to back spot, after a huge effort yesterday, it's normal that they will have a letdown today and with that, the Bobcats's offense will heavily struggle.

The same will happen with Philadelphia. They didn't want to waste their chance of winning last night at Cleveland, but thanks to that, all their starters played at least 36 minutes. Coach Collins is putting the Sixers playing at a ridiculously slow pace during the fourth quarter in order to spend as much time as possible to keep their leads in the games and this is why their last two games at Milwaukee and Cleveland had such a small amount of points scored during the fourth quarter. We are also in front of two teams in here whose offense is super perimeter-oriented, so on poor spots, they immediately struggle. Their offensive rates in back to back games this season has been clearly worse than on spots where they are rested, so I expect a low scoring game in here tonight. Therefore, I'll be taking the Under in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 505/506 Under 195 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bovada