Back 76ers covering as favorites vs Nets Sunday

Sunday marks the final day of the 2023-24 NBA season, and the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets conclude their regular season by facing off against one another in Philadelphia.

The oddsmakers on NBA betting sites have the 76ers favored by 14.5 points points. The sportsbook with the best odds for them covering is FanDuel (-110). Read on to see why I agree why the oddsmakers and think Philadelphia will cover that amount.

The 76ers and Nets are two teams looking at opposite futures. The 76ers have a playoff berth secured thanks to a good regular season that saw them survive highs and lows such as Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey both missing time to injuries.

On the other hand, the Nets regressed from last year and face questions on every level. Questions remain over whether Mikal Bridges is a guy they can build around and just how much they need to change this offseason to build a better roster.

As for this game in particular, it’s hard not to imagine the 76ers handling business at home. When healthy, the 76ers have shown they can hang with anybody.

Kelly Oubre Jr. has had his most consistent season ever. Buddy Hield and Kyle Lowry have proven good fits for the team in different respects. Tobias Harris can erupt at any given time and Embiid and Maxey are as consistent as it gets.

The Nets don’t share the 76ers fortunes of being healthy for this game. A significant portion of their roster is injured with Cameron Johnson, Dennis Schroeder, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Dorian Finney-Smith all out.

That said, they do have players capable of lighting up the box score at any given time in Bridges and Cam Thomas. Inconsistency has been their biggest weakness however.

The Nets injury report is a big cause for concern, especially when looking at the point guard and power forward positions. I have full confidence in the 76ers to cover the spread at just about full strength.

While Thomas and Bridges are two players who can go iso and score one on one, the 76ers have much more talent when it comes to being able to do that.

Embiid is one of the biggest difference makers in the league when healthy, and I don’t think Nic Claxton is going to be able to do much to contain him. As long as Embiid is firing at full strength, the 76ers are hard to beat.

Maxey is another reason for my pick, as I have no faith in any of Brooklyn’s guards to cover him. While Bridges will likely get switched onto him often, Maxey is such a good passer and has good shooters around him to exploit Brooklyn’s defense on the perimeter.

Going into the playoffs, the 76ers will look to play as best they can to carry momentum. They’ve had a fabulous month of April, and ending the season with a comfortable win over Brooklyn will do wonders to keep that confidence going into the postseason.

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