The big national TV game on Saturday night definitely lost some of its appeal with Joel Embiid (knee) done for the season and the Sixers struggling, but some interesting storylines remain on both sides of this matchup between the Warriors and the 76ers. In addition to the storylines, some strong player props can help make Saturday night’s matchup more compelling. Check out my top three 76ers vs. Warriors prop bets in this post.
In the big picture, the Warriors are 8.5-point road favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook in this matchup, which has a point total of 228. Neither team is on either half of a back-to-back, and the only real unknown from an injury perspective is Jimmy Butler (back), who is questionable for what could be a revenge game against another one of his former teams that he left disgruntled.
Best Prop Bets for Warriors at 76ers on DraftKings Sportsbook
Paul George under 29.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-120)
George is coming off a big game against the Knicks on Wednesday when he had 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to easily go over this PRA (Points + Rebounds + Assists) line. However, before that big game in which he played 42 minutes, he had fallen short of this mark in nine straight games dating back to the end of January.
George is only averaging 16.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists for a PRA average of 25.9 this season. Some of those games definitely came with Embiid on the floor taking up usage, but his big performances have been few and far between. Taking him to go off for back-to-back big games seems like a bad idea, so I’m taking the under here.
If Butler does play, he’ll lock down PG13, but even if he doesn’t, the Warriors have been playing strong team defense and have Gary Payton II available as a defensive specialist to deploy on George if they need to. It’s not a lock since George showed he can still go off, but I think the under is by far the better play.
Guerschon Yabusele 8+ Rebounds (+235)
It’s been a rough year for the Sixers on multiple levels, but one of their few bright spots has been the strong play of Yabusele, especially with all the time that Embiid has missed. If you’re looking for a plus-money play from the Sixers’ side, this is one I like a lot since Yabusele has eight or more rebounds in four of the Sixers’ last six home games.
Yabusele only played 13 minutes in his most recent game against the Bulls before he was forced to leave with an eye injury. He had eight rebounds in each of his two previous games against the Nets and Celtics even though he played just 23 and 25 minutes in those two contests.
In his 35 games this season without Embiid, he has averaged 28.4 minutes and produced 5.8 rebounds. He had six boards in the first meeting between these teams in Golden State in early January, but this alternate line has been much easier for him to reach at home, where he averages 6.4 rebounds per game, compared to on the road where he pulls in just 4.5 boards per game.
Brandin Podziemski under 5.5 rebounds (+105)
I went to Pod Racer’s props looking for a way to back him to have a big game, but this prop is too good to pass up at plus-money. Podziemski has gone under this rebound total in 67.3% of his games this season and five of his last six.
He did have 13 rebounds against the Mavericks earlier this week, but that was the only time he had more than five since the All-Star break. When he does go over, it’s usually by a significant margin, which is why his average is 4.8 boards per game for the season.
His move to the lineup makes him a good pick for points, threes and assists, especially if Butler is out, but I’ll take the under on Podziemski’s rebounds in this matchup with the Sixers and feel great about getting it at +105.
