Ala Hann Sport picks

The Matchup

With one team surging and one team sagging, the outcome to this contest is fairly easy to predict. For those looking for betting tips, San Antonio travels to Philadelphia on Friday night to take on the struggling Philadelphia 76ers. While the Spurs have just two wins in Philly since 1999, look for the team to make it three after a workman-like performance on Friday night. The Spurs continued their winning ways after the break with a 90-87 win over Indiana on Wednesday. After winning three of their last four, San Antonio remain one game behind Southwest-division leading Dallas.

For their part, Philadelphia is looking to get back on track after faltering in their last two performances, most recently against Miami in their first game after the break. It was a rough night as the 76ers were blasted 105-78 in their worst loss since November. Prior to their last losses, Philly had been on a season-high five game win streak.

The Breakdown

Historical record (and sportsbooks) reveal that Philadelphia has not been kind to the San Antonio Spurs. They have lost seven of nine road matchups with the 76ers since the 1999-2000 season. In their last meeting, Philadelphia took all of the jingle and darn near most of the jangle out of the Spurs, shutting them down 109-87 on January 16. A win against a strong team such as San Antonio could give Philadelphia the confidence and fire it needs to go on another hot steak, however, the team’s play in their last outing, gave fans little to see confidence in.

Also, look for Allen Iverson to be back in the game on Friday. Iverson missed the last few games due to family medical issues, however, after seeing minimal time in Tuesday’s game, look for Iverson to be back in the starting lineup on Friday. This will mark Iverson’s first meeting with San Antonio since February, 2006. Iverson scored an incredible 42 points in that meeting and has averaged 28.8 points and 5.5 assists over 25 career games versus the San Antonio Spurs.

The Bottom Line

While San Antonio is the better team according to NBA betting lines, you cannot discount their past poor performances in Philadelphia. Also taking into account the addition of Allen Iverson back into Philly’s starting lineup, and it looks like we have the makings of an upset and a much needed win at home for Philly. Not so fast. Expect Tim Duncan to bounce back from his terrible performance from the field on Wednesday, and San Antonio to gut it out, and eek out a win in front of what will no doubt be a typically demure, high class and relaxed crowd in Philly.

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