All of a sudden, the Golden State Warriors look unbeatable once again. The Warriors have won 11 straight games, and some people have started to wonder if they are peaking too soon. Golden State will host the surging Philadelphia 76ers for a primetime battle at Oracle Arena on Thursday night.
The Warriors have taken complete control of the Western Conference, and come into this game with a record of 36-14. Golden State has gone 18-6 at home so far this season, and are always tough to beat at Oracle. The Sixers are still trying to chase down the Toronto Raptors in the Atlantic Division and come into this game with a record of 33-18. Golden State is a 9.0 point favorite over the Sixers on Thursday night.
Warriors Offense on a Roll
The Warriors didn’t look like themselves during the early part of the season, but that isn’t the case anymore. Golden State is back to leading the NBA in scoring, pouring in a whopping 119.1 points per game. They lead the league in assists once again, dishing out over 29 per game. The addition of DeMarcus Cousins has made the Warriors virtually unstoppable. The All-Star center is averaging more than 15.2 points since making his debut earlier this month.
You always have to worry about the “Splash Brothers” when taking on the Warriors. Stephen Curry is quietly having one of the best seasons of his career, scoring better than 29 points per game on 45 percent shooting from the three-point line. Klay Thompson went through a long shooting slump earlier this season but has his three-point percentage back up to 38 percent. If Curry and Thompson get hot, it will be a long night for the Sixers.
Sixers Finding Some Chemistry
The addition of Jimmy Butler gave the Sixers another All-Star on their roster, but it also made the Sixers re-adjust their offense. It appears that they have things ironed out, and Philadelphia is scoring close to 116 points per game. Butler is averaging 19.0 points per game since his arrival and is also their best defender, averaging 2.0 steals per contest. Philadelphia still has some work to do defensively, but they look like a real threat to win the Eastern Conference.
Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were drafted to be the future of the Sixers franchise, and those two youngsters are having huge seasons. Embiid is an MVP candidate this season, averaging 27.2 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. Simmons is dishing out more than eight assists per game this season, but still has some work to do with his outside shot. You can bet that Embiid and Simmons are looking forward to the challenge of taking on the Warriors.
Golden State Wins at Home
This is a great chance for the Sixers to show the rest of the NBA that they are a real title contender. Philadelphia has plenty of talent to play with the Warriors, but their defense might cost them in this game. Golden State has been putting up huge numbers of late, and they will take advantage of a poor defense in this game. I’m taking the Golden State Warriors -9.0 over the Philadelphia 76ers.
