Don't Expect Joel Embiid to Go Off Tonight Despite Dominant Series
The Philadelphia 76ers have had their way with the Washington Wizards in the first round of the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs.
The 76ers have defeated the Wizards by an average of 20.33 points through the first three games, and they have the chance to complete the series sweep on Monday night.
A large part of the 76ers dominance has been the stellar play of their star center, Joel Embiid, who has averaged 29.33 points per game this series. WynnBET expects Embiid to have another big game tonight, as his player prop point total is set at 30.5 with the over (-120) favored to the under (-104).
Despite Embiid’s strong play this series, I think the under is the play on his player prop tonight.
Embiid hasn’t managed a full workload this series, as it’s been completely one-sided for the large majority of action. Embiid played fewer than 30 minutes in Game 2 and Game 3, as the Sixers had no need to continue playing him in a blowout.
In Game 3, Embiid put up 36 points but he had to shoot 77.8 percent from the field to do so. He played only 28 minutes in Game 3 and 26 minutes in Game 2, so with the series all but locked up, I imagine the Sixers won’t hesitate to take Embiid off the floor if they establish an early lead.
It’s more realistic to expect a performance that will be similar to the one he had in Game 2. With the Sixers establishing a big lead early, Embiid saw just 26 minutes of action and he put up only 22 points despite shooting 66.7 percent from the field. That’s 8.5 points lower than what his point total is set at for tonight’s game.
If the Wizards manage to keep it close tonight, the Sixers may opt to keep Embiid on the floor for longer than they’d like, and that may give him the opportunity to score 30-plus points for the third time this series.
WynnBET has Philadelphia set as an eight-point favorite, and the total for the game is set at 229.5.
Even if the 76ers lose tonight, Philadelphia fans shouldn’t panic. WynnBET has their odds to win the series set at -5000, which is an implied probability of 98.04 percent. The Sixers will face the winner of the New York Knicks-Atlanta Hawks series in the Eastern Conference semifinals.