Two streaking teams meet in Philadelphia on Friday night when the L.A. Clippers face off against the Sixers.
The Sixers have won six straight, and have an MVP candidate with a healthy Joel Embiid at center, leading the league in scoring for Philly. They has a stiff test on Friday when the Clippers come to town, right back in the thick of things in the Western Conference with Kawhi Leonard starting to look more spry, scoring 31 points earlier this week.
Who will prevail in this marquee matchup? Let’s check out the odds and see if Los Angeles can stunt the Sixers winning streak.
Clippers vs. 76ers Odds, Spread and Total
Clippers vs. 76ers Prediction and Pick
These are two of the best defensive teams in basketball, especially in the month of December as each team got healthier. The Sixers check in at fourth in the league in defensive rating while the Clippers are sixth, per NBA.com.
The difference between the two teams comes on the offensive side, where the Clippers continue to struggle, 29th in offensive rating this month while the Sixers are hovering around league average. However, are the Clips trending up?
Leonard is starting to look like his old self, and when he is on the floor, Los Angeles is one of the most dangerous teams in the league. The Clippers are +22.2 when he is on the floor, in the 99th percentile of players this season, according to cleaningtheglass.com.
When Leonard plays, the team is five points better on offense, looking more like a league average offense, but also 17 points better on defense, the best unit in the league.
The Clippers are trending upwards while the Sixers have had a few late game struggles to close out games, such as against the Raptors earlier this week. I’ll grab the points with the Clippers, but this handicap hinges on Leonard playing so make sure to keep an eye on the injury reports.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.