8:00 pm
February 22

76ers @ Bulls

Who will WIN this matchup?

Philadelphia 76ers (30-25)

@ Chicago Bulls (20-37)

 

Current odds:

Philadelphia 76ers: (-280)

Chicago Bulls: (+230)

 

• The line for the game is Philadelphia by 7 points.

• The Philadelphia 76ers have their sights on a playoff spot and seek their sixth consecutive victory when they visit the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. Philadelphia closed out play before the All-Star break on a roll and continuing that caliber of play over the final third of the campaign could give the franchise its first playoff berth since the 2011-12 season. Philadelphia won six of its past seven games and is in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, three games clear of the ninth-place Detroit Pistons but just two games behind the fourth-place Washington Wizards.

• While the 76ers aim to end their playoff drought, Chicago dropped nine of its last 11 games and is closing in on its first losing campaign since the 2007-08 season.

• It is a two-man race for Rookie of the Year honors between Philadelphia guard Ben Simmons and Utah shooting guard Donovan Mitchell and Simmons continues to downplay the possibility and express that he’s focused on making the playoffs. Simmons is averaging 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists with Mitchell averaging 19.6 points, and Embiid not surprisingly is siding with his teammate. “Definitely, we’re in the playoff race, and his numbers are insane,” Embiid told reporters. “He’s been helping us a lot. I feel there should be no question he’s the Rookie of the Year.”

• The roster needs a lot of work for Chicago to return to a playoff hopeful and general manager John Paxson said the last 25 games of the season will be heavy on evaluation. “The whole goal in our position is to evaluate what we have on this roster,” Paxson told reporters on Tuesday. “The hard thing when you do things like this is you’re asking certain people to sacrifice roles and minutes. It’s veteran guys. That’s never an easy thing.” The Bulls have a young trio to build around in shooting guard Zach LaVine, rookie power forward Lauri Markkanen and point guard Kris Dunn and possess two first-round picks in the 2018 NBA draft.

• Simmons averaged 19 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists and three blocks as the teams split this season’s first two meetings.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Philadelphia 76ers
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