Take 76ers covering as home favorites vs Knicks in Game 3 Thursday

After dropping their first two road games against the Knicks, the 76ers host a pivotal game Thursday. They’ll be playing with a ton of desperation as they look to avoid a 3-0 series deficit. NBA betting sites favor the 76ers by 4.5 points. I’m taking their side on this one and placing the bet on DraftKings (-110).

Although the Knicks are up 2-0, this series could easily be 1-1 due to how Game 2 ended in controversial fashion. Nonetheless, the Knicks’ biggest concern has to be the inefficiency of their all-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson.

Brunson has shot just 1-6 from deep in each game and is shooting 29.1% from the field. He turned the ball over five times in Game 1 as well. Without Julius Randle, the 76ers have excellently honed in on the league’s fourth leading scorer.

New York is up 2-0 thanks to a couple of reasons while Brunson has struggled. Josh Hart has dropped 43 points, their bench has contributed a lot of points, and their duo of bigs Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson have been fantastic.

On the flip side, the 76ers need more offensive production from Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. While Harris’ defense on Brunson has been clutch, he’s only scored 17 points this series while Oubre has just 14 points.

Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey have done their part to show up for Philadelphia at least. Maxey has dropped 30 or more points and Embiid has been outstanding too. I’d like to see Embiid force up less threes though, as he’s 4-17 from distance.

Rebounding is the key area the 76ers will need to focus on defensively. They were much better in Game 2, but they can’t afford a repeat of Game 1 where they were out rebounded by 22 and gave up 23 offensive boards.

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Madison Square Garden in a playoff atmosphere is a daunting challenge for any team. Home court advantage has been big in these playoffs as home teams won the first 12 games that were played. The series being back in Philadelphia will make a difference.

The 76ers came so close to winning Game 2, and they’ve proven stiff competition even with inefficient shooting from their stars and subpar play from their role players. I project a bounce back game from Harris and Oubre, which helps Maxey and Embiid efficiency-wise.

Although New York has found ways to win while Brunson is being clamped down, I can’t imagine them eeking out a third straight win if he continues to struggle.

Although I love Brunson’s game, the 76ers’ plan to force him into tough shots makes me question if he can overcome their scheme without another star player flanking him.

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