Chicago (33-37) at Philadelphia (48-22)
When: Monday, March 20th 2023
Where: Wells Fargo Center,
Philadelphia, PA
Time: 7:00 ET | TV: NBC Chicago
Opening Odds: Philadelphia -8/224
Two hot teams will play the first of a home-and-home series on Monday as the Chicago Bulls visit the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The Bulls are hanging on to the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference by winning four of their last five. The latest was a 113-99 home win over the Miami Heat on Saturday. Chicago will enter Monday’s action 1.5 games ahead of the Indiana Pacers for that final spot in the East. The Bulls had success the last time they visited Philly, winning 126-112 on January 6, snapping a 12-game losing streak to the 76ers. It was also the first time Chicago covered the spread versus Philadelphia since the 2020 season. The Sixers took the first meeting 114-109 way back on Oct. 29. The teams will play again in Chicago on Wednesday.
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The 76ers come in red-hot, winning eight in a row after Saturday’s dominating 141-121 road win at the Indiana Pacers. James Harden didn’t play in that game, but Philly got another impressive effort from Joel Embiid and company. This is the second eight-game winning streak of the season, as the Sixers look to stay percentage points ahead of the Boston Celtics in the Atlantic Division. Philly is now within striking distance of the Milwaukee Bucks for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks and Sixers play one more time on April 2nd in Milwaukee. After Philly’s rematch with Chicago on Wednesday, they will travel out West for three tough games.
In the win at Philadelphia back on Jan. 6, Zach LaVine drained 11-of-13 from 3-point range to highlight his 41-point performance as Chicago snapped the 76ers’ 11-game home winning streak. Nikola Vucevic recorded a triple-double with 19 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists as the 76ers played that game without Embiid. DeMar DeRozan has the hot hand for Chicago. He scored a season-high 49 points in Chicago’s 139-131 double-overtime victory vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. He followed that up with 24 points and 10 assists in the win over Miami on Saturday. LaVine had 18 points and seven assists, while Coby White had 18 and six, respectively.
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Embiid recorded 31 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and two blocks on Saturday and even sat out the entire fourth quarter. The six-time All-Star now has at least 30 points in a franchise-record nine straight games. Tyrese Maxey contributed 31 points and seven assists, Tobias Harris had 24 points and five rebounds, while De’Anthony Melton added 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and six steals in place of Harden. Philadelphia is 22-9 ATS in their last 31 home games.
Philly seems unstoppable, but Chicago comes in with some momentum and a win at Wells Fargo Center earlier this year. The Bulls have scored over their average in six straight games and should be able to keep this one respectable.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for today.
Pick: Bulls +7.5
