Mar 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jeff Dowtin Jr (11) controls the ball against the Indiana Pacers in the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn ImagesMar 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jeff Dowtin Jr (11) controls the ball against the Indiana Pacers in the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Quentin Grimes. Justin Edwards. Jared Butler. Guerschon Yabusele.
These are not the names you would have expected the Philadelphia 76ers to mainly be leaning on at this late juncture in the season with the playoffs in sight.
However, the Sixers are not even thinking about extra basketball with their dreadful — and, to many, unimaginable — 23-45 record. That’s because they were absolutely blitzed by the injury bug this year.
Long gone is Joel Embiid with his hobbled left knee. Veteran Kyle Lowry has been sidelined a while. The club’s most explosive scorer, Tyrese Maxey, is currently out dealing with a back issue.
Andre Drummond, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Adem Bona are out, too.
Still, Philadelphia is putting up some fight — at least on the offensive end.
In the previous nine games without Maxey, for instance, they’ve averaged 115.3 points, as the aforementioned role players have emerged in their newfound recent roles.
Grimes has especially gone bonkers, scoring 28.5 points per night on 53.1% shooting this month, including a pair of 40-point outings. He just posted a career-high 46 on Monday.
The 76ers are about to get a bit of a boost as well in the form of Lonnie Walker IV, who is set to return from a concussion sustained last week. Walker — a former Spur who was drafted by the organization — will relish being back in his old stomping grounds.
As a road player in San Antonio, the former first-round pick has played in three meetings and dropped 18-plus points in two of them.
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Like tonight’s opponent, the Spurs have also been victimized by crucial injuries. Of course, there was the headlining news last month that superstar big man Victor Wembanyama would miss the rest of the campaign with a right shoulder issue.
Additionally, the club’s prized acquisition at the trade deadline, De’Aaron Fox, is also done for the season.
The Spurs are still playing hard and competitive, however, as they’re actually still in the hunt for a play-in berth, sitting three games back of Phoenix.
In the 11 games without Wemby, San Antonio is 4-7, but it hasn’t been due to a lack of offense, averaging 119.5 points in those contests. The problem has been defense, which is to be expected.
Wembanyama is basically a shoo-in annually for the Defensive Player of the Year award when he’s healthy, and his void on this team right now has been massive. In fact, opponents are averaging 124.8 points against the Spurs during this stretch without their face of the franchise.
All that in mind, I’m pegging this evening’s affair from Frost Bank Center to finish with a final score on the higher side. The total of 234.5 is a little steep, so I’m attaching a simple player prop bet from another game in order to get a lower number on the over/under at similar odds.
Adding the proposition of C.J. McCollum and Anthony Edwards to both reach 15 points from the tilt between the Pelicans and Timberwolves allows us to grab an alternate total eight points lower.
Pick: McCollum/Edwards Both Over 14.5, 76ers/Spurs Over 226.5 (-137 parlay, DraftKings)
NBA Betting Record: 21-16, +1.29 units
Over/Unders: 7-5
Everything Else: 14-11
Each bet is graded as if it were to win one unit unless otherwise stated.
Follow me @MattZylbert on Twitter/X for potentially more picks added there.
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