NBA Picks 4/9 – 76ers @ Rockets

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

Two teams jockeying for playoff position in their respective conferences square off tonight as the Philadelphia 76ers (43-36, 7th in the East) visit the streaking Houston Rockets (50-29, 5th in the West) tonight at Toyota Center. The 76ers are aiming to finish sixth or higher in order to avoid the play-in tournament, while Houston is looking to finish third or fourth to secure home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

This is the second and final regular season meeting between the 76ers and Rockets. Philadelphia prevailed 128-122 in overtime in the first meeting on Jan. 22. The teams have split the last four matchups. Houston has won a season-high seven games in a row.

Houston is a 3.5-point favorite and the total is 225.5.

Philadelphia lost 115-102 at San Antonio on Monday night. The 76ers were competitive with the Spurs (60-19) until the third quarter when San Antonio went on a 17-6 run that turned a one-point deficit into an 81-70 lead. The Spurs went on to win comfortably.

Joel Embiid posted a game-high 34 points (8-19 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 16-19 FT) and added 12 rebounds and 4 blocks for the 76ers in defeat. Paul George chipped in with 16 points (5-15 FG, 4-5 3Pt, 2-4 FT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, while Tyrese Maxey tallied 15 points (6-16 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT), 8 assists and 3 rebounds.

The Rockets rallied for a 119-105 win at Phoenix on Tuesday night for their season-best seventh straight victory. It appeared as if Houston was going to get run out of the gym after falling behind by 21 (28-7) to open the game. They also trailed 40-21 early in the second quarter, but closed quarter with a 33-17 run to pull within 3 (57-54) at halftime. After a nip-and-tuck third quarter, Houston seized control in the final frame outscoring Phoenix 38-21 to win going away.

Kevin Durant scored a team-high 24 points (8-20 FG, 5-9 3Pt, 3-3 FT) in his first game back at Phoenix since being traded to Houston during the offseason. Durant spent 2 1/2 seasons with the Suns. Emerging star Amen Thompson stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points (10-16 FG, 2-2), 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and a block. Seven players scored in double digits for the Rockets.

Last season, the Philadelphia 76ers endured a myriad of injuries that sunk their record to a woeful 24-58. It was Philadelphia’s worst record since a 28-54 finish in 2016-17. The 76ers had made seven straight playoff appearances prior to last season’s debacle.

Philadelphia’s Big Three of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George all missed significant amounts of time due to injury which doomed the 2024-25 season. Embiid began the 24-25 season on the injured list with a lingering knee injury. He was never able to gain full health for the entire season and played in just 19 games last season. Paul George (knee) played in only 41 games last year, while Maxey (pinky) played in 52 games.

The disastrous 2024-25 season did net Philadelphia the third overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft where they selected athletic guard VJ Edgecrombe out of Baylor. The addition of an immediate-impact rookie in Edgecrombe (16 ppg, 5.6 rebs, 1.4 stls, 2 threes in 72 gms) along with the return of its Big Three of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George led to a resurgence this season. Philadelphia surpassed last season’s win total (24) on Jan. 27 when they improved to 25-21. Philadelphia’s 43 wins is a 19-game improvement over last season.

The availability of Philadelphia’s Big Three is still an issue this year as Joel Embiid (38 gms played) and Paul George (34 gms played) will miss more than half of the season for a second straight year. Embiid has missed 41 games this year due to a right oblique (stomach/rib) injury — that kept him out for almost a month beginning in late February — and load management. Embiid has yet to appear in back-to-back games this year.

Joel Embiid has played at an elite level when healthy, averaging 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.4 threes per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the floor across 38 games. Embiid is a career 27.6 points per game scorer over his 10 NBA seasons when he’s on the floor. If the 32-year-old, 7-time All-Star and 2023 MVP is relatively healthy for the playoffs, the 76ers can be a formidable opponent in the play-in tournament and/or the actual playoffs.

Paul George was suspended for 25 games for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy on Jan. 31. He returned on Mar. 25 and is playing very well, averaging 24.7 ppg over 7 games since being reinstated. For the season, the 35-year-old, 9-time All-Star is averaging 17.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.8 threes per game on 43.8 percent shooting from the field and 40.5 percent shooting from long distance across 34 games.

All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey is registering another stellar season in year six. The 25-year-old, Kentucky product is averaging career-highs in points (28.4), assists (6.7), rebounds (4.1), steals (1.9) and threes (3.2) on 46.9 percent from the floor and 36.9 percent from long distance across 67 games. He was named an All-Star for the second time in his career.

Last season, the Houston Rockets surprised many NBA observers when they posted a 52-30 record and finished second in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. Their 52 wins was an 11-game improvement over the previous season (41-41) and their most wins since the 2018-19 campaign. Houston’s turnaround was ignited by a talented core of young players (Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smtih Jr.) and second-year head coach Ime Udoka.

The youthful and inexperienced Rockets were eliminated by the seventh-seeded and playoff-tested Golden State Warriors in 7 games (4-3) in the first round of the playoffs. Despite the tough end to the season, they made tremendous strides and looked to be a team on the rise.

During the offseason, the Houston Rockets made the eye-opening move of acquiring veteran superstar Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade on June 22, 2025. The Rockets parted with Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and multiple draft picks in exchange for the 37-year-old, future Hall of Famer Durant. The Rockets then signed Durant to a two-year, $90 million max extension in October.

The decision to acquire the 37-year-old Kevin Durant perplexed some folks due to Durant’s age (in NBA years) and the youthful make-up of the Houston Rockets roster. The Rockets gave up 23-year-old, perennial 20 ppg scorer Jalen Green and 29-year-old defensive-minded forward Dillon Brooks to get Durant. But it symbolized a ‘Championship or Bust’ mindset for the Rockets as Durant is in the twilight of his stellar NBA career, but still playing at a high level.

Houston’s 2025-26 season got off to an inauspicious start when starting point guard Fred VanVleet (14.6 ppg, 5.2 asts, 2.7 threes in 60 gms last yr) tore his ACL during a workout in September 2025. VanVleet will miss the entire the regular season and is unlikely to return for the postseason. VanVleet’s absence has been glaring for the Rockets this year as Houston has been forced to play “positionless” basketball with mostly Amen Thompson, along with others (Reed Sheppard, Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun) running the point.

Despite playing without starting point guard Fred VanVleet for the entire season, Houston is still on pace to match or exceed last year’s 52-win total. The continued prolific production from ageless superstar Kevin Durant (25.8 ppg, 5.4 rebs, 4.7 asts, 2.4 threes, 51.7% from 2, 41.3% from 3 in 76 gms) in year 19, along with the splendid play of emerging 23-year-old stars in center Alperen Sengun (20.5 ppg, 8.9 rebs, 6.2 asts, 1.2 stls, 1.1 blks, 51.9% from 2 in 70 gms) and versatile swingman Amen Thompson (18 ppg, 7.8 rebs, 5.3 asts, 1.5 stls, 52.9% from 2 in 77 gms) has allowed Houston to remain amongst the better teams in the NBA.

I have to ride the hot hand here and go with surging Houston, who is going for the 8th straight win and aiming for the third or fourth seed in the West. Securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs is now more likely now as the Lakers — who have an identical 50-29 record as the Rockets — will finish the regular season without its two leading scorers in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Lay the Points and take the Rockets!