Brooklyn Nets vs. Philadelphia 76ers Game 5: Prediction Against The Spread, Betting Odds, Preview

The Brooklyn Nets had their chance to make their first-round series a competitive one. They blew it, and the Philadelphia 76ers should eliminate them from the 2019 NBA playoffs Tuesday night.

After being stunned in the series opener with a 111-102 loss at home, Philadelphia has taken care of business with three straight victories. It hasn't mattered that Joel Embiid has been dealing with a knee injury and even missed a game. The 76ers are the much better team, and it's why they are about to advance to the second round in just five games.

Even with Embiid not at 100 percent, Philadelphia simply has too much talent for Brooklyn to overcome. Ben Simmons’ inability to shoot and the 76ers’ lack of depth will hurt them later on against elite competition. As impressive as the Nets have been this season, they are essentially an average team that can’t push Philadelphia much further.

If Embiid plays in Game 5, Jarett Allen and the rest of Brooklyn defense won’t be able to contain him. The Nets have been killed in their three losses by Tobias Harris, who is averaging 24 points on 50 percent shooting in those contests. Ben Simmons had a triple-double in Game 2 and scored 31 points on 13 shots in Game 3. Jimmy Butler had 36 points in the series opener and J.J. Redick hit five threes in Game 3.

All of that is to say at least two or three of Philadelphia’s starters will put up big numbers in Game 5, and that will be too much for Brooklyn to overcome on the road.

The Nets’ backcourt is putting up points. D'Angelo Russell, Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie are scoring a combined 61.6 points per game, but the team isn't getting enough production elsewhere in order to feel very good about its chances in the potential series clincher.

Brooklyn needs Russell to be one of the best players on the court. The All-Star hasn't been able to do that this series, shooting just 38.4 percent from the field and nearly totaling the same amount of shots as points. The point guard can get hot like few other players in NBA can, but relying on that to happen Tuesday night is not a safe bet.

Picking the 76ers to win Game 5 is a much safer bet. The betting line is somewhat sizable with Philadelphia being favored by eight points, according to OddsShark, but the 76ers can certainly cover that spread. They’ve beaten the Nets by 16 points or more in two of their three victories.

Philadelphia is -360 to win straight up. Brooklyn’s moneyline is +300.

Tuesday's total is 229.5. Look for Philadelphia's offense to perform as it did in both Game 2 and Game 3, allowing the 76ers to win another high-scoring affair.

Prediction against the spread: Philadelphia over Brooklyn, 125-111