- The Philadelphia 76ers have the fourth shortest odds (+1600) to win the East.
- Suffering from a slew of injuries, the time off gives players their needed rest.
- Philadelphia has the ninth shortest odds (+3300) to with the NBA Championship.
PHILADELPHIA - The NBA hiatus brought upon by the league shut down in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, for the Philadelphia 76ers, this may have been great news as they were riddled with injuries all season.
Currently the sixth seed in the East (39-26), the Sixers have the fourth shortest odds to claim the Eastern Conference.
Odds To Win The Eastern Conference
- Milwaukee Bucks -225
- Boston Celtics +650
- Toronto Raptors +800
- Philadelphia 76ers +1600
- Miami Heat +2000
This season, the Sixers have been historic at home with a 29-2 record, but have struggled on the road (18-15).
With the team being able to rest and recover from injuries and spend time conditioning for the remainder of the season, can the 76ers turn their season around?
With All-Stars flooding the roster and being in the top 10 odds to win the NBA Finals, the 76ers are in an excellent position moving forward compared to where they were a few months ago.
Blessing In Disguise
NBA sports bettors who take action on the 76ers games would have noticed that the injury gods have not been kind to Philly this season.
From concussions to knee, neck, and back injuries to even illness, this roster has suffered from over 40 separate injury cases.
Joel Embiid had an injured shoulder, neck, hand, and knee, has sat for illness, injured his hip, and sprained his ankle. Because of all these setbacks, Embiid has been unable to maintain basketball conditioning and his overall numbers have suffered because of it.
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The team suffers as well since the 76ers move as Embiid does and they are a significantly worse team when Embiid doesn’t play.
It makes it worse that their second star Ben Simmons has been suffering from a nagging back injury all season.
With the league on pause, players now have a chance to fully recover from their injuries and focus solely on getting in NBA shape for the season's return.
The 76ers are hoping to make a major playoff push this season, and a fully healthy Embiid is what is needed to accomplish this.
Beyond just the physical benefits of the hiatus, players also benefit from the mental calmness of no league.
Spending more time with the family and being able to refocus themselves during this time is another positive to take away from the shutdowns. During an interview with 76ers reporter Lauren Rosen, 76ers center Al Horford described staying home as an unexpected blessing.
“It’s a lot of quality time,” said Horford. “We’re obviously going through a very hard time in the world with this pandemic, but having this time with [family] - it’s something that I don’t think it would ever happen. It’s brought me closer to them. My wife and I are really making the most out of this time.”
The league shutdowns have given all teams a chance to rest and refocus, with a possible league return in Orlando.
After graduating from Florida State University with a degree in creative writing, Giovanni spent his professional career writing short stories for online journals. Now at USAOnlineSportsbooks, you can find him keeping fans up to date on their favorite teams best betting odds. Giovanni still tries to incorporate his passion for storytelling through the perspective of sports betting.
