NBA season resumes with Joel Embiid’s 76ers hosting Ja Morant’s

Who’s ready for the stretch run of the NBA season?

The All-Star break has come and gone, and there are nine games on tap on Thursday night as the NBA schedule resumes. That group of games is headlined by Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies heading on the road to face Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Sixers are 3.5-point favorites over the Grizzlies at BetMGM with the total listed at 229.5.

Philly won four straight entering the break and sits at 38-19 overall, three games behind the Boston Celtics for first place in the Eastern Conference standings (and a half-game behind the Milwaukee Bucks). Embiid has been playing at an MVP level once again, but are the Sixers equipped to make a run at the Celtics in the East?

With Embiid and James Harden leading the way, Philly has shown the ability to beat just about anybody in the NBA. But the Sixers also tend to have some really head-scratching performances. That will happen over the course of an 82-game season, but those issues have surfaced in the postseason in years past.

The Sixers have not advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2001 and have lost in the East semifinals in four of the past five seasons. Could this be the year those fortunes change? Oddsmakers seem skeptical.

The Celtics and Bucks are the favorites to emerge from the East, listed at +115 and +185 respectively. The Sixers are down at +550 to win the East and +850 to edge out the Celtics in the Atlantic Division.

The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are 35-22 and in second place in the West, five games behind the Denver Nuggets. The Grizzlies — who are +750 to win the West — have struggled over the last month, enduring a stretch where they lost eight of nine games. However, they won three of four before the break and are looking to keep that going to start the second half.

A big reason for the team’s recent decline is the absence of bruising big man Steven Adams. Adams is slated to return to the floor soon, but not soon enough to match him up…