76ers vs Pacers 8/1/20 - NBA Picks & Predictions

The Philadelphia 76ers will open their eight seeding games against the Indiana Pacer on Saturday. Philadelphia has talent from top to bottom including Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Al Horford but did not gel as a unit during the first 60-plus games of the regular season and needs to do just that quickly during its eight seeding games. During the regular season, the 76ers were 29-2 on their home court but just 10-24 when playing on the road and no one knows how the 76ers will react on a neutral site with no fans.

Joel Embiid is leading the 76ers in scoring and rebounding with averages of 23.4 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. Ben Simmons is the third leading scorer and leader in assists with averages of 16.7 points and 8.2 assists per game, while Tobias Harris is the second leading scorer with an average of 19.4 points per game.

The Pacers have already clinched a spot in the playoffs but this matchup is important for Indiana as the Pacers are currently tied for fifth with the 76ers in the Eastern Conference. Indiana will play without Domantas Sabonis due to plantar fasciitis, but Victor Oladipo who originally was expected to sit out the restart reconsidered and played in each of the scrimmage games leading up to this opening game.

The leading scorer for the Indiana Pacers is TJ Warren with an average of 18.7 points per game. Malcolm Brogdon is the third leading scorer and leader in assists with averages of 16.3 points and 7.1 assists per game. The Pacers will not have the scoring and rebounding of Domantas Sabonis who was second in scoring with an average of 18.5 points per game and the leading rebounder with an average of 12.4 per game.