76ers climb to No. 3 in ESPN power rankings as Maxey powers 7-1 start before Detroit test

The Philadelphia 76ers moved up from fifth to third in ESPN's latest NBA power rankings, which came out after two weeks of the season. Only Houston and Detroit rank higher. The ranking sets up a matchup of top-three teams for Wednesday night, when the Sixers visit the No. 2 Pistons.

ESPN summed up Philadelphia's start as "The Tyrese Maxey Show." The roster has two former MVPs in LeBron James and Joel Embiid, plus Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, who came over from Boston in the offseason. Even so, Maxey has been the team's best player so far. He leads the Sixers in scoring and leads the league with 11.0 points per fourth quarter, and those late runs have turned several close games into wins. Kris Rhim wrote the Sixers entry, and he quoted Nick Nurse as saying the 25-year-old guard now "knows he's really, really good," which the coach said he hadn't always been sure of.

Philadelphia's most recent win followed the same pattern. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that all five starters scored at least 15 points in Monday's 126-107 win over Chicago. Maxey finished with 26 points and 11 assists and made two fourth-quarter threes that forced Bulls timeouts. The Sixers shot 53 percent from the floor and pulled away after a 15-2 run in the third quarter.

The rankings put a lot on this week. Philadelphia's next four games, per ESPN, are at Detroit, at Cleveland, at Chicago and then home against Boston, which sits fourth.

What it means for Wednesday in Detroit

The 76ers are 7-1 and first in the Eastern Conference. Their one loss came against Wednesday's opponent: Detroit won 106-93 in Philadelphia, the only game this season in which the Sixers scored fewer than 98 points. Since then they have won five straight, three of them by five points or fewer, including a 109-104 win at Charlotte and a 98-93 win over the Knicks. They are 3-0 on the road.

Detroit is 6-1 and 2-0 at home. ESPN ranks the Pistons first in points allowed per game and in defensive rating, and its rankings note that their 3-point shooting has improved, with the team now sixth in the league in percentage. Detroit will play without center Jalen Duren (hamstring) and Isaiah Joe (hip), according to ESPN's game preview. Philadelphia is missing Dominick Barlow (back), and Ariel Hukporti is out for the season with an Achilles injury.

On this site's odds board, which covers 12 venues, the Pistons are favored. Novig has Detroit at -127 on the moneyline and Philadelphia at +125. Novig sets the spread at Pistons -2.5 (-106), with the Sixers +2.5 at +102. Other venues are a point tighter: the best Detroit spread price anywhere is BetRivers at -1.5 (-114). Totals are also a point apart. Novig has the line at 218.5, with the over at -106 and the under at +102, while the best under price anywhere is FanDuel's 219.5 at -114. Sportsbook hold runs roughly 2.5 to 5 percent across the markets, so the venues mostly differ by a point on the line rather than by price.

The gap between the two teams is small. Detroit has the better defense and home court. Philadelphia has the better record and the league's top fourth-quarter scorer.