3 Reasons The Sacramento Kings Can Beat The 76ers

Reason #3: Injuries To Simmons & Embiid

In what will be the Kings biggest advantage of the evening, the 76ers will be without their first and third-best scorers and arguably their most important players.

Ben Simmons has missed the last five games after suffering a nerve injury to his lower back, and a timetable for his return to action has not yet been announced. Philly is 2-3 without Simmons during the current stretch and 4-4 on the season with him out of the lineup. Shake Milton has been starting in place of Simmons and scored 39 points (!) in the loss to the Clippers.

But where the Kings will really benefit is from the absence of Joel Embiid. The all-star has missed the last three games after missing nine in a row in January. The absence of Embiid will be beneficial to Sacramento on both ends of the floor, as they just don’t have the necessary big bodies to be able to bang with the big man down low. Alex Len could take some hacks, but Richaun Holmes is still awaiting a return and Harry Giles would likely get handled by the ultra-talented Embiid. The 76ers are 10-9 when Embiid doesn’t dress.

The 76ers are still talented across the board even without their two best players. Tonight’s game certainly won’t be a walk in the park for Sacramento. Still, most Las Vegas sports books have the Kings somewhere between 3.5 and 5 point favorites for tonight’s game.