SIXERS (-8.5) at TIMBERWOLVES (232), 8 p.m.
Pick: Over 232
No Joel Embiid, so don’t bank on much defense from the Sixers. It’s night and day for Philadelphia defensively when he’s on the floor versus when he’s out. The center out of Kansas will rest for the Sixers (48-27) on Saturday with the playoffs on the horizon and Philly all but locked into the third seed in the East.
The Timberwolves (33-41) are finishing a back-to-back and while going over a high total like this would normally be a concern with one of the teams having played 24 hours prior, Minnesota is actually 7-5 to the Over with no days of rest. It’s Minnesota or pass on the side here, but we’ll pass after the Timberwolves expended a lot of energy in Friday’s 131-130 overtime victory against Golden State. That could be another reason for not much defense on Saturday.
Philly allowed 129 in Atlanta last weekend with Embiid in the lineup. We think this is a similar kind of game where both teams go over 120.