NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his Philadelphia 76ers vs Dallas Mavericks preview for Friday, March 17. At the time of posting, The 76ers have opened as a 2.5-point home favorite over the road Mavericks, with the total sitting at 217 points.<\/p>\n
Stay on top of the latest NBA<\/a> updates direct from Las Vegas!<\/em><\/p>\n Philly will host Dallas this evening in a matchup of playoff teams who have intentions of a deep playoff run as Philly will be -2.5 favorites.<\/p>\n The story in this game is Embiid being listed as a game time decision as he was last game before going for 35 points in a win against Cleveland.<\/p>\n Doc Rivers has said he\u2019ll rest Harden and Embiid to make sure they don\u2019t wear out before the playoffs, so I\u2019ll write this up thinking Embiid will play tonight as they have a tight schedule coming up as they play Sunday, Monday and Wednesday.<\/p>\n Dallas appears to have no issues with lineups, so let\u2019s find the best play in this game.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a great stretch for Dallas as they\u2019re 14-3 straight up since Feb. 4 where they started this winning streak against this 76ers team.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve won 8 out of 9 with the loss being a bizarre game against the Knicks where they had an all time bad shooting night. They also have beat two good teams in a row in Boston and Brooklyn, as well as Utah and Golden State twice in that stretch.<\/p>\n Dallas is 7-3 ATS their last 10 games, and they are 1-4 O\/U so they\u2019ve still been playing solid defense as they are the 9th best in defensive efficiency in the month of March.<\/p>\n The last seven games they\u2019ve alternated winning the losing and they\u2019re losing to the good teams and wining against lesser teams, and this goes back to the Harden trade.<\/p>\n Their most recent three losses are to Denver, Brooklyn and Miami while their most recent three wins are to struggling Cleveland, bad Orlando, and imploding Chicago.<\/p>\n They also are a bad covering team at home going 13-21 ATS for the season and 3-7 ATS their last 10. Obviously, the big question is will Embiid play tonight, I think he will. Even if he does, I\u2019m not sure they win this game.<\/p>\n I consider Dallas a really good team, and they are the type of team that Philly has been losing to. Dallas isn\u2019t good against Embiid, so if he plays expect a big game from him, but he does that against everyone today.<\/p>\n What I like for Dallas is they are #1 in the NBA defending shooting guards and #3 against point guards, so expect them to disrupt the Philly offense. I\u2019ll take Dallas and the points.<\/p>\n Prediction: Dallas Mavericks +2.5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n
\n Friday, March 18<\/th>\n NBA Betting Notes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Point Spread:<\/td>\n Philadelphia 76ers -2.5 vs Dallas Mavericks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total:<\/td>\n 217 Points<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Game Time:<\/td>\n 7:10pm ET \/ 4:10pm PT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Arena:<\/td>\n Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n TV:<\/td>\n NBC Sports Philadelphia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Philadelphia 76ers vs Dallas Mavericks Analysis<\/h2>\n
Mavericks Making Their Move<\/h3>\n
76ers Alternating Wins and Losses<\/h3>\n
Philadelphia 76ers vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction<\/h2>\n
NBA Stat Sheet<\/h3>\n