Philadelphia has lost just twice in 21 games at home this year, while the Bulls are just 7-13 SU on the road. The Sixers have posted double-digit victories in each of Chicago’s last three visits to the City of Brotherly Love.
- Date/Time: January 17, 7 p.m. ET
- Arena: Wells Fargo Center
- TV Coverage: ESPN, NBC Sports Chicago, NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Sportsbook Odds: 76ers -7.5 / O/U 217
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Both teams have struggled in this point spread range this year. Chicago is just 1-3-1 ATS when catching 7.5 points or more, while the Sixers are 2-8 ATS when laying more than 7. The UNDER has caught early bettors’ attention, dropping as low as 216 before ticking back to 216.5 as of Thursday night.
Chicago News & Notes
The Bulls are coming off just their second win in their last nine games after defeating the Wizards 115-106 Wednesday in Chicago. Zach LaVine led the way for Chicago with 30 points, his fifth straight outing with at least 25 points, but he had plenty of help as well. Six other Bulls scored at least 10 points in the victory, including reserves Luke Kornet, Coby White, Thaddeus Young and Chandler Hutchison.
Hutchison may not be available against the Sixers, however, after suffering an elbow injury in the fourth quarter. The Bulls also lost starting center Daniel Gafford to a dislocated right thumb that will keep him out of action for the next couple of weeks.
Chicago hasn’t had much success stringing together quality efforts of late, covering just 11 of its last 38 games following a SU victory. In nine of their last 16 coming off an outright win, the Bulls have lost by double digits, including six defeats by 20-plus points.
Philadelphia News & Notes
The Sixers’ extreme home-road dichotomy continued Wednesday when Philadelphia beat the visiting Brooklyn Nets 117-106, easily covering the spread as 6.5-point chalk. Philly had lost six of its last eight games going into Wednesday, but all of those losses came on the road where the Sixers are just 7-14 SU on the year. At Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia is a sizzling 19-2 SU and a profitable 11-8-2 ATS.
Ben Simmons had 20 points, 11 assists and six rebounds against Brooklyn to record his third straight double-double and ninth in 11 games. But the big story Wednesday was Tobias Harris, who hit 14 of his 20 shots from the field en route to a 34-point outing. Twenty-four of Harris’ points came in the second half as Philadelphia overcame a three-point halftime deficit. The Sixers, who are now 2-2 since losing Joel Embiid to a finger injury, outscored Brooklyn 31-16 in the fourth quarter.
Betting Pick: UNDER 217
Philadelphia has gone UNDER the total in eight of its 10 games this year when favored by more than 7 points.
- Chicago is 2-6-1 ATS in its last 9 games.
- The OVER is 7-1 in Philadelphia’s last 8 at home.
- The OVER is 9-3 in Chicago’s last 12 games at Philadelphia.