The Nuggets continue their trip East with a stop in Philadelphia to take on the 76ers on Friday night at 7:40 p.m. ET. While Joel Embiid (knee) isn’t around to give us the showdown against Nikola Jokic, there is still plenty of intrigue, and some fun storylines to check out in the matchup. Let’s take a look at some of the best Nuggets and 76ers prop bets for this contest.
The Nuggets are nine-point road favorites with the point total at 233.5 on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Nuggets are fourth in the Western Conference with a 28-19 record while the Sixers are 19-27, currently No. 11 in the Eastern Conference. The teams met ten days ago in Denver, with the Nuggets posting a resounding 144-109 victory.
Best Prop Bets for Nuggets vs. 76ers on DraftKings Sportsbook
Jamal Murray over 5.5 assists (-115)
Murray has dished out at least six assists in each of the Nuggets’ last five games against the Sixers and four of their last seven games overall. He’s playing big minutes even with Russell Westbrook starting next to him, and has averaged 37 minutes per game in the three games on this trip, going over this prop in Monday’s loss to the Bulls and Wednesday’s loss to the Knicks.
On the season, Murray is producing 6.0 assists per game over his 41 contests, and he has actually been slightly more productive on the road than at home. Against Philly earlier this month, Murray only had nine points but did add seven assists to go over this number in that matchup.
Since this game is expected to be more competitive, look for Murray to again deliver enough dimes to make this a winning prop bet Friday.
Eric Gordon over 11.5 points (-110)
Since these teams met earlier this month, Paul George (finger) is hurt again, opening up playing time and usage for Gordon and Kelly Oubre Jr. (more below). Gordon has started each of the last 10 games for the Sixers, averaging 11.7 points per game. He had nine points in Denver, but he only played 19 minutes in that game. In his four games since then, he has averaged 29.8 minutes per game and scored at least 13 points in each contest.
Gordon played both games in the Sixers back-to-back to start the week, scoring 14 points in 31 minutes against the Lakers and 14 points in 22 minutes against the Kings.
He has hit at least three three-pointers in five straight games and eight of his last ten. Taking him for over 1.5 three-pointers at -188 is a strong option for parlay building, but I’d rather take his straight-up points total at better odds in this matchup.
Guerschon Yabusele under 6.5 rebounds (-120)
Yabusele has been tons of fun to watch and I usually like to back an over on the Dancing Bear whenever I can. However, in this matchup, the under on his rebounds is too good to pass up.
Even without Embiid and Andre Drummond (toe), Yabusele hasn’t been a beast on the boards. He is averaging 5.5 rebounds per game on the season and has been under this total in five of his last six games. The only game he went over, he posted a huge double-double with 12 points and 13 boards against the Cavaliers.
Against Denver, Yabusele played 24 minutes and had just three rebounds off the bench. He was just returning from an injury in that game and played off the bench, but he is a little undersized to tangle down low with Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon. While I like Yabusele for DFS contests and as an overall contributor, I think he’ll finish under this rebound total.
Kelly Oubre Jr. 30+ Points + Rebounds + Assists (+140)
I can’t go with three picks in this game all from minus-odds; I gotta find a plus prop I like! Oubre is a good one at 30+ PRA (points + rebounds + assists) since he’ll be stepping into more work with George out along with Embiid.
Oubre fell just short of this line on Tuesday at 24 PRA, but he had over 30 PRA against the Lakers, Bulls and Cavs in his three previous contests. Against the Nuggets, Oubre struggled to just 13 PRA, but he should be more involved and have a much higher ceiling in this rematch.
In his 15 games without George and Embiid, Oubre has averaged 16.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists for 23.7 PRA. However, in his last three games in that scenario that number has trended up to 28.4 PRA on 18.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists.
Oubre usually thrives at home where the fans get fired up by his hustle plays, so I think he has a good shot to get over 30 PRA at plus money this Friday.
