League-leading Phoenix Suns (43-10) face a tough matchup on Tuesday against the red-hot Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers (32-21).
Embiid has scored 25-plus points in 20 consecutive games and bookmaker Bovada expects the streak to continue against Phoenix with a 30-point game. The odds are at -119 for Embiid to get at least 31 points.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: February 8th, 8:30 A.M. (EST)
The Sixers have been flying since the end of December with Embiid having started his streak straight after Christmas. He’s joined Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only seven-footers in NBA history to score at least 25 points in 20 straight outings.
Embiid has averaged 33.8 points per game during the run and he’s climbed to the top of the NBA’s scoring list with a 29.3 points average for the season. He’s a nightmare for any opposition and has just dropped 40 points against another top side, the Chicago Bulls.
Philadelphia beat the Bulls 119-108 on Sunday and the team has now won 16 of their last 21 games. The Ben Simmons drama has taken center stage this season, but the Sixers have done just fine without him and Embiid has proved that he’s very well capable of leading the team on his own.
Phoenix has also just taken down Chicago as Devin Booker led the team to a 127-124 victory on Monday with 38 points. The 25-year-old scoring machine has notched 30-plus points in three of his past four outings and will look to outshine Embiid in Tuesday’s match-up.
The Suns head to the City of Brotherly Love with a superb 16-2 record for 2022. They are one of the top defensive sides in the league and with Booker leading the charge, Phoenix is also ranked third in offensive efficiency.
The back-to-back situation will make it tough for the Suns, but they can hurt teams in multiple ways and Embiid will definitely need some help to take down the best team in the NBA.
Philadelphia hasn’t beaten Phoenix since 2018-19. The most recent meeting was in April last year and the Sixers had to settle for a 116-113 loss despite Embiid scoring a game-high 38 points. It was a proper shootout in the fourth quarter as the two teams combined for 76 points and we can expect something similar this time around as well with both teams in hot form.
