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Would you bet on the Sixers to win it all at 80-1 right now?

Before the playoffs, they were 16-1. With Embiid out and the Miami Heat up 2-0, the Sixers are the longest shot of the remaining teams to win it all.

James Harden and Doc Rivers found little joy in the Sixers' two losses in Miami.
James Harden and Doc Rivers found little joy in the Sixers' two losses in Miami.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer
    by Ed Barkowitz, For The Inquirer
    Published 

The Sixers’ odds to win the championship climb with each three-pointer that clangs off the rim, especially as Joel Embiid stayed behind to watch them lose the first two games in Miami.

Before the playoffs, they were 16-1. When Embiid was ruled out to start this series, they were 25-1. As of Thursday afternoon, FanDuel had them at 50-1, DraftKings 55-1, BetMGM 66-1, and the SuperBook was even higher at 80-1.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid is the only one who can save the Sixers

“If they were down 0-2 with Embiid, you wouldn’t see them at that price,” said Jeff Sherman, VP of risk management for the SuperBook in Las Vegas, which also is licensed in New Jersey. “I’d probably have them about 40-1.”

Sherman called the spread for Friday’s Game 3 in Philadelphia — which was Miami -1.5 on Thursday afternoon — an “in-between” line.

“I would expect if Embiid played, you would see it head toward Sixers -1.5 or 2,” Sherman said. “And if he’s out, it’s probably going to be Miami -4 or -4.5. You’ll see a rapid adjustment toward Miami if he’s ruled out.”

The Sixers have shot 14 for 64 from three-point distance in the first two games, a 21.9% clip. James Harden, acquired to help get the Sixers deeper than the second round, is 11 for 28 from the field, 3 for 12 from three. He had 16 points in Game 1, 20 in Game 2.

» READ MORE: Doc Rivers must let Tyrese Maxey replace James Harden as the Sixers’ alpha

Harden’s individual scoring prop per game, Sherman said, is down to about 22.5 points.

“There was a time when we were doing player props and his were approaching 40 points a game,” when he was in Houston, Sherman said. “He’s not that type of player right now. He’s just not the same player. It’s going to be interesting going forward to see how the Sixers tackle this.

“It’s shocking to see [it that low] without Embiid in the lineup. And we’ve seen a little more [action] on the under, which is basically people not interested in him. The public is a little bit leery of being pro-James Harden at this point.”

» READ MORE: A runner dressed like Allen Iverson ran the whole Broad Street Run while dribbling a basketball

This & That

  1. Miami’s 119-103 win over the Sixers comfortably went past the closing total of 208.5. It was the first time in their seven playoff games the over came through.

  2. The Sixers have lost four of their last five both straight-up and against the spread.

  3. The last time the Sixers were underdogs at home was March 21 when they hosted Miami. They upset the Heat as 8-point ‘dogs as Joel Embiid and James Harden sat out.

  4. Phoenix has shot at least 50 percent in each of its eight playoff games, and covered their last four.

What’re the odds?

At Superbook/Thursday

Series prices

Heat -1100/Sixers +700 … Celtics -125/Bucks +105 … Suns -1200/Mavericks +750 … Warriors -335/Grizzlies +275

Championship odds

Suns 11-5, Warriors 3-1, Heat 9-2, Celtics 5-1, Bucks 6-1, Grizzlies 25-1, Sixers 80-1, Mavericks 80-1.