Nets vs. 76ers prediction: Lay the points with Philly in its return home

After a perfect five-game West Coast road trip — followed by a well-deserved three-day respite — the Philadelphia 76ers finally return to Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.

Awaiting them will be the Brooklyn Nets, who are wrapping up their own five-game road swing that started on the left coast and ends in Philly.

The big question hovering over this Atlantic Division showdown: Will the 76ers have the services of center and MVP candidate Joel Embiid?

Embiid, who has been dealing with left foot soreness all season, sat out Saturday’s 129-127 road-trip-closing comeback win in Sacramento.

Shooting guard James Harden also didn’t suit up because of a foot issue. However, Harden is off the injury report and will play Wednesday night.

One superstar who definitely won’t be on the floor is Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant, who has been sidelined for 2½ weeks with a knee sprain.

As you might expect, the absence of Durant — who leads his team in scoring and ranks seventh among all NBA players — factored into our Nets vs. 76ers prediction.

So, too, did this: Philadelphia is scorching hot right now.

Odds updated as of 12:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 25.

Quickly about Embiid: We don’t expect him to go Wednesday night. And we suspect based on this point spread, oddsmakers share that opinion.

Of course, not having the NBA’s second-leading scorer and 14th-best rebounder on the floor hurts. But it’s not like it dooms the Sixers’ chances.

After all, they didn’t need Embiid (or Harden) on Sunday, when they rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit, pulled off the upset as a 5-point underdog and snapped the upstart Kings’ six-game winning streak.

They also didn’t need Embiid, Harden or point guard Tyrese Maxey the last time the Nets came to town.

With that trio on the bench in street clothes back on Nov. 22 — and with Durant joining Kyrie Irving and ex-76er Ben Simmons on the court — Philadelphia rolled to a 115-106 victory as an 8-point home underdog.

Obviously, if Embiid does play we’ll see an uptick in the point spread. But either way, we like the 76ers in this spot — even while acknowledging that it’s dangerous to lay points with NBA teams coming off long road trips (followed by three full days off at home).

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Thing is, this isn’t an ideal situation for the Nets, either. Not only will they play their sixth straight game without Durant, but in the last eight days they’ve gone from San Antonio to Phoenix to Utah to Golden State and now to Philly.

Like the Sixers, Brooklyn will take the court rested, having not played since Sunday’s 120-116 upset win over the Warriors as an 8-point underdog. That victory was preceded by Friday’s 117-106 upset of the Jazz as a 4.5-point pup.

Impressive wins, to be sure. But prior to that, Brooklyn had dropped four in a row without Durant.

On the flip side, Philadelphia comes into this contest on an 18-4 tear (14-8 ATS). During this run that dates back to Dec. 9, the Sixers are 10-2 at home (8-4 ATS).

What about the fact that three of Philly’s five wins out West were by a total of four points? And that the team is 4-2 SU but just 1-5 ATS in its last six as a favorite of 5 to 10 points?

Truthfully, it’s a bit concerning. But that concern is offset by the fact that 15 of the Nets’ 17 losses this season have been by 5 points or more — including 14 by at least nine points.

Throw in the Sixers’ blistering 119.6-point scoring average during their 18-4 run, and we’ll lay the chalk at FanDuel.

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