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Sacramento hits Philadelphia in a bad place: six straight losses, a brutal 3-20 road mark, and an offense that can look one-dimensional when the threes do not fall. The Kings just went 5-for-30 from deep in New York and still entered the fourth tied, which tells you the effort is there, but the shot-making and late-game offense are not. The Sixers are coming off a reset game offensively, and it matters because it featured the version of Philadelphia the market has been pricing all year. Paul George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey were all on the floor together, the ball moved, and the spacing turned into a shooting avalanche. Now they get a Kings team that has struggled to defend

Milwaukee heads to Washington with the league’s noise swirling around its future, but the betting angle is more immediate: what does the Bucks offense look like without Giannis, and can they stop giving games away with turnovers and second-chance points. The raw scoring is still there with this roster, yet the floor drops when they lose the possession battle. Washington is in the opposite place. The record is ugly, but the direction is clear. They are letting the young core take bigger swings, pushing tempo, and living with the mistakes. That style can steal games at home when the opponent is sloppy, and it can also lead to long droughts when the shots don’t fall. This one is Thursday night

Miami’s four-game trip hit a wall in Minnesota, and the ugly part was how quickly the offense disappeared. When the Heat shoot in the mid-30s, it is not just “an off night.” It changes their shot diet, shrinks their transition chances, and forces them into late-clock possessions where the margin is tiny. Now they head to Chicago needing a cleaner brand of offense without losing the defensive edge that usually keeps them afloat. The Bulls are sliding, too, and the losses have looked similar. They can hang for three quarters, then the game turns more physical and they struggle to finish possessions. That matters here because Miami’s best wins come when they dictate effort, win the rebound battle, and make

Michael Porter Jr. gets his first return trip to Denver on Thursday night, and it comes with the Nets needing offense from him almost every possession. Brooklyn is deep in a rough stretch, but the one thing that travels is shooting volume, and Porter has been carrying that load as the clear No. 1 option. Denver’s angle is simpler. They’re still winning without their full lineup, but the margin is thinner at home right now, and they’ve had to piece together rotations with multiple starters sidelined. Jamal Murray has kept the offense afloat, and Jonas Valanciunas has given them real rebounding and interior finishing when he’s been available. This one tips at 9:00 PM ET at Ball Arena on YES.