NBA Regular Season 2023/24, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023
Friday night sees a clash between two teams with a positive record in Georgia’s capital. Excitement is guaranteed in the State Farm Arena!
My Hawks 76ers betting tip explains why I expect a real thriller, for which handicap bets are particularly suitable
The hosts from Atlanta currently have a decent record of six wins and five defeats, even though star point guard Trae Young is currently posting pretty lousy odds.
“Ice Trae,” who is not known for his efficiency anyway, is currently hitting just 35.6% of his shots and 27.8% of his three-point attempts (and that’s with a whopping 7.6 of these shots per game).
If the Hawks want to build on their Conference Finals appearance in 2021, Young will have to take the next step in his development to become a reasonably efficient scorer
Meanwhile,
Co-star Dejounte Murray is having the best scoring season of his career after a somewhat disappointing debut season at Georgia. “Baby Boy” is currently averaging 22 points per game at strong rates of 50% from the field and 38.7% from beyond the arc.
Interestingly, Murray is playing much better at home (23.8 points, 59.5% shooting percentage, 44% three-point percentage) than away (20.5 points, 41.8%, 35.1%). This should be relevant for player bets on Murray’s individual performance.
With De’Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Saddiq Bey, Onyeka Okongwu and Clint Capela, Young and Murray are supported by six players who put up more than nine points per game.
The four wins in a row, including against the ambitious Milwaukee Bucks and the league-best defense of the Minnesota Timberwolves, are particularly impressive. However, the Hawks have lost and won one game each time since then.
A bon mot relevant to betting is the fact that the Hawks have not lost by more than nine points in any of their five defeats to date. Most recently, they lost by just two points at home to the New York Knicks.
With 120.3 points per game, the Southerners currently have the third-best offense in the league, while their defense ranks 23rd with 117.3 points allowed.
The upcoming opponents from Pennsylvania feature both an elite offense (4th with 119.9 points) and an above-average defense (11th with 111.7 points allowed).
The resulting point differential of +8.2 is the third best in the league. This is also reflected in the impressive record of eight wins to three defeats.
However, they recently suffered two consecutive home defeats against the East’s top teams from Boston (-10) and Indiana (-7).
Combo guard Tyrese Maxey, who had poor shooting percentages in both games, should hope to make amends against the weak Hawks defense.
Maxey is one of the most improved players of the still young season and has quickly made the departure of James Harden a thing of the past.
With All-Star numbers of 27.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.7 assists with outstanding shooting percentages of 48.6% from the field and 42.9% from downtown, Maxey is currently proving to be the long-awaited co-star for center superstar Joel Embiid, who in turn is building on his MVP season from last year statistically (31.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists).
The 76ers can also build on the fact that they have won the last three meetings against the Hawks by an average difference of 6.7 points.
Speaking of point differential. Since my Hawks 76ers prediction is based on a game that will be exciting right up to the last moment, I recommend a handicap bet that gives the Sixers a virtual lead of 3.5 points, which the Northeast Americans are likely to take to the finish line.
In general, Philadelphia is underestimated by some of the leading sports betting providers and you can find odds of around 2.00 on the 76ers at some bookies. Odds that I think are too high
Despite the current small phase of weakness, I think the 76ers coached by Nick Nurse are too good to lose their third game in a row, and certainly not by a wide margin.
If you are more risk-averse, you could also consider a handicap bet of +4.5 on the 76ers (odds around 1.55).
But my Hawks Sixers tip is: 76ers win with handicap +3.5!
