It’s safe to say that this season hasn’t quite gone to plan for either the Philadelphia 76ers, who signed free agency’s biggest target in wing Paul George, or the Indiana Pacers, who made the Eastern Conference Finals just last year. Philadelphia — which has only seen Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and George suit up together twice — sits at 7-15, while Indiana is 10-15.
Embiid has been fine when he’s taken the court, but as has been the case throughout his career, he just hasn’t been on the court enough. The 2022-23 MVP has averaged 22.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game this season, but he’s only appeared in five games because of a left knee issue.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Philadelphia is a 6.5-point favorite and the point total is set to 237.5. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bets centered around the Cameroonian big.
Best Joel Embiid Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Joel Embiid 35+ Points (+190)
Embiid’s brilliance has been overshadowed by the injury concerns that he has faced. When he is on the court and healthy, he is one of the most dominant scorers the game has ever seen. In the 39 games he played last year, he averaged 34.7 points in just 33.6 minutes per game, joining the legendary Wilt Chamberlain as the only two players in league history to average more points than minutes played. He hasn’t had a massive scoring game yet this season, but with five days to rest since the 76ers’ last game, he should be able to put up a big performance tonight.
He has an extremely favorable matchup against a Pacers team that allows 118.2 points per game, the fifth-highest figure in the league. Indiana has particularly struggled with paint protection, allowing 31.0 shots per game from within five feet, the fourth-most in basketball. Pacers center Myles Turner, one of the NBA’s premier shot-blockers, is having the worst season of his career by defensive plus-minus, and Indiana has little center depth after losing backup and third-string centers James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson to Achilles tears.
Joel Embiid O10.5 Rebounds (+100)
Because of the Pacers’ problems at guarding the interior, I expect Embiid to spend most of his time in the paint, which will allow him to rack up rebounds. Indiana has been a decent rebounding team this season, allowing the 11th-fewest boards to opposing players, but Embiid has a 19.2% career rebounding percentage, good for 17th all-time.
Embiid has posted a career-low 15.4% rebounding percentage this year, but he also hasn’t been healthy. In his last two games, he has trended back towards his career average of 11.1 rebounds per game, posting 11 in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on November 20 and 12 in a win over the Chicago Bulls on December 8. Given this positive trend and improved health, I back him to post a third consecutive double-double on Friday night.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
