NBA Playoffs: Brooklyn Nets vs. Philadelphia 76ers Betting Preview

The Philadelphia 76ers will look to take a commanding 2-0 lead Monday night as they host the Brooklyn Nets.
This game will be played at the Wells Fargo Center, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 pm ET.
The 76ers are the overwhelming favorites in this one playing at home. They are -500 to win, while the Nets’ moneyline sits at +385. The spread features Brooklyn as 10-point underdogs (-112), and the over/under for total points is 214.
Nets Try To Shock The 76ers As Massive Road Underdogs
After trading both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving earlier in the season, many don’t anticipate that the Nets can even win a game in this series, let alone win the series outright. Trying to shock the 76ers as massive road underdogs, Brooklyn will try to pick up the win Monday night.
In Game 1, the Nets were trounced 121-101. In the loss, Mikal Bridges had a game-high 30 points to go along with five rebounds. Since being acquired from Phoenix in the Durant deal, Bridges has averaged 26.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 27 games.
Aside from Bridges, other contributors in their loss included Cameron Johnson (18 points, 4 rebounds), Spencer Dinwiddie (14 points, 7 assists), Seth Curry (10 points), and Nic Claxton (5 points, 10 rebounds).
This season, the Nets rank 20th in scoring, averaging 113.2 points per game. They rank ninth in scoring defense, allowing 112.6 points per game to opponents (115.1 on the road).
76ers Out To Prove They Are The Best In The East
Even though the Philadelphia 76ers finished third in the Eastern Conference, they are still out to prove they are the best in the East. They currently have the third-best odds of winning the conference at +450, but they must first worry about overtaking Brooklyn.
Luckily for Philadelphia, they have one of the best players in the NBA in Joel Embiid. Embiid did not have his best game in Game 1, but he still finished with 26 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
James Harden also was fantastic with a double-double as he had 23 points and 13 assists. Tobias Harris (21 points, 4 rebounds), Tyrese Maxey (13 points, 6 rebounds), and Paul Reed (11 points, 4 rebounds) were also solid.
Throughout the year, the 76ers have had one of the best defenses in the NBA. They rank third overall, allowing opponents an average of just 110.8 points per game. Offensively, they rank 14th in scoring, averaging 115.3 points per game.
Take Philadelphia To Win And Cover
Looking at the trends, Brooklyn is just 5-10 against the spread in their last 15 games overall. In their last five games against Philadelphia, they are 1-4 against the spread and 0-5 straight up.
As for the 76ers, they are 4-1 in their last five games and 6-3 against the spread in their last nine. In their last eight games at the Wells Fargo Center, they are 6-2.
This is just a bit of a David versus Goliath matchup. While Mikal Bridges and Spencer Dinwiddie are nice players, the Nets just don’t have the depth nor the top-end talent to run with Philadelphia.
Take the 76ers to both win this one and to cover the 10-point spread (-108).