NBA Parlay Picks of the Day
Washington Wizards vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 7 p.m. ET at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s Key Injury
Philadelphia’s star center, Joel Embiid, will most likely not play tonight. He is being listed as ‘doubtful’ for tonight’s game.
After falling awkwardly on his leg last game, the team still needs to evaluate him further.
The Significance of Joel Embiid
In the regular season, Embiid led the team by far with 28 points per game. He averaged nine points more per game than any other 76er.
He also led the team with 10.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
His shot-blocking helped him become a Defensive Player of the Year finalist.
Also, he had the 12th-highest Defensive Win Shares (DWS) in the NBA, which means that his defense contributed to a relatively high number of his team’s victories.
Ripple Effect
Without Embiid, Philadelphia’s defense suffers a significant drop-off. His backup, Dwight Howard, is nowhere near his level, for which reason his defensive rating this playoffs is 9.6 points worse than Embiid’s.
Embiid’s absence creates more opportunities for Wizard big men.
Last game, multiple Wizard big men stepped up. They are finding their groove at the right time and their positive form is clearly facilitated by Embiid’s absence.
Power forward Rui Hachimura, for example, scored 20 points off of a very efficient shooting night. Centers Daniel Gafford and Robin Lopez also contributed 12 and 16 points, respectively.
Without Embiid, these guys will encounter less resistance in the form of the high-quality rim protection that Embiid had been able to offer. So they will continue to score in droves.
Who Will Step Up On Offense?
Philadelphia’s next-leading scorer in the regular season was Tobias Harris.
Harris might look like a great candidate to step up for Embiid. We can recall Game 1, in which he amassed 37 points.
Last game, he scored 21 points, but required 24 field goal attempts to reach that scoring output. He was very inefficient.
Harris will be a tiny bit more efficient because he is a strong shooter. But he is not characteristically a high-volume shooter.
In the regular season, he attempted 3.4 three-pointers per game. Conversely, he attempted the fourth-most two-point field goals in the NBA.
When he penetrates inside, the Wizards are able to offer him more resistance.
Previously, they had to devote double teams to Embiid. In previous articles, I wrote about the size advantage that Philadelphia boasted primarily because of the seven-foot monster Embiid.
Without Embiid and the scoring threat that Philadelphia possessed at the center position, the smaller Wizards can devote attention on defense elsewhere.
Wizard bigs are able to roam freely and bother the likes of Harris when he gets inside.
They can also bother Ben Simmons, who is more inclined to drive inside.
Unlike Harris, Simmons is a notoriously bad shooter. He is practically incompetent from behind the arc as well as at the free throw line.
So defenders can sag off of him and, without having to worry about Embiid, they can pay more attention to his driving.
I don’t like the 76ers because they lack starters who will reliably score without Embiid on the floor and against a Wizard defense that was one of the best at limiting opposing field goals at the basket in the regular season.
Wizards’ Scoring
I like the Wizards more because they possess multiple centers who will flourish in Embiid’s absence.
I also favor one star, Bradley Beal, who has been a consisting scoring threat in this series.
Through four games, Beal has scored 33, 33, 25, and 27 points.
His three-point percentage this series has been awful. But his last game — in which he converted 40 percent of his three-point attempts — may indicate that his efficiency behind the arc will continue to progress.
But I like the “under” in this game because the 76ers have been able to stymy Russell Westbrook with the likes of Defensive Player of the Year finalist Ben Simmons.
The 76ers, on defense, use their length to limit Westbrook’s driving room. Because he can’t shoot, he can’t do much at all when he struggles to race to the basket.
So far this series, Westbrook is averaging merely 17.8 points per game, 4.4 fewer than his season average.
Also, Davis Bertans is injured and is done for the series. Bertans’ injury is important because he was a high-volume, efficient three-point shooter.
By just about any statistical measure, Washington is one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA.
Bertans had at least given Philadelphia somebody to worry about from behind the arc.
Best Bet: Parlay Wizards +6.5 at -110 & Under 229.5 at -110 at +264 with Bookmaker
Washington Wizards vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 7 p.m. ET at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s Key Injury
Philadelphia’s star center, Joel Embiid, will most likely not play tonight. He is being listed as ‘doubtful’ for tonight’s game.
After falling awkwardly on his leg last game, the team still needs to evaluate him further.
The Significance of Joel Embiid
In the regular season, Embiid led the team by far with 28 points per game. He averaged nine points more per game than any other 76er.
He also led the team with 10.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
His shot-blocking helped him become a Defensive Player of the Year finalist.
Also, he had the 12th-highest Defensive Win Shares (DWS) in the NBA, which means that his defense contributed to a relatively high number of his team’s victories.
Ripple Effect
Without Embiid, Philadelphia’s defense suffers a significant drop-off. His backup, Dwight Howard, is nowhere near his level, for which reason his defensive rating this playoffs is 9.6 points worse than Embiid’s.
Embiid’s absence creates more opportunities for Wizard big men.
Last game, multiple Wizard big men stepped up. They are finding their groove at the right time and their positive form is clearly facilitated by Embiid’s absence.
Power forward Rui Hachimura, for example, scored 20 points off of a very efficient shooting night. Centers Daniel Gafford and Robin Lopez also contributed 12 and 16 points, respectively.
Without Embiid, these guys will encounter less resistance in the form of the high-quality rim protection that Embiid had been able to offer. So they will continue to score in droves.
Who Will Step Up On Offense?
Philadelphia’s next-leading scorer in the regular season was Tobias Harris.
Harris might look like a great candidate to step up for Embiid. We can recall Game 1, in which he amassed 37 points.
Last game, he scored 21 points, but required 24 field goal attempts to reach that scoring output. He was very inefficient.
Harris will be a tiny bit more efficient because he is a strong shooter. But he is not characteristically a high-volume shooter.
In the regular season, he attempted 3.4 three-pointers per game. Conversely, he attempted the fourth-most two-point field goals in the NBA.
When he penetrates inside, the Wizards are able to offer him more resistance.
Previously, they had to devote double teams to Embiid. In previous articles, I wrote about the size advantage that Philadelphia boasted primarily because of the seven-foot monster Embiid.
Without Embiid and the scoring threat that Philadelphia possessed at the center position, the smaller Wizards can devote attention on defense elsewhere.
Wizard bigs are able to roam freely and bother the likes of Harris when he gets inside.
They can also bother Ben Simmons, who is more inclined to drive inside.
Unlike Harris, Simmons is a notoriously bad shooter. He is practically incompetent from behind the arc as well as at the free throw line.
So defenders can sag off of him and, without having to worry about Embiid, they can pay more attention to his driving.
I don’t like the 76ers because they lack starters who will reliably score without Embiid on the floor and against a Wizard defense that was one of the best at limiting opposing field goals at the basket in the regular season.
Wizards’ Scoring
I like the Wizards more because they possess multiple centers who will flourish in Embiid’s absence.
I also favor one star, Bradley Beal, who has been a consisting scoring threat in this series.
Through four games, Beal has scored 33, 33, 25, and 27 points.
His three-point percentage this series has been awful. But his last game — in which he converted 40 percent of his three-point attempts — may indicate that his efficiency behind the arc will continue to progress.
But I like the “under” in this game because the 76ers have been able to stymy Russell Westbrook with the likes of Defensive Player of the Year finalist Ben Simmons.
The 76ers, on defense, use their length to limit Westbrook’s driving room. Because he can’t shoot, he can’t do much at all when he struggles to race to the basket.
So far this series, Westbrook is averaging merely 17.8 points per game, 4.4 fewer than his season average.
Also, Davis Bertans is injured and is done for the series. Bertans’ injury is important because he was a high-volume, efficient three-point shooter.
By just about any statistical measure, Washington is one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA.
Bertans had at least given Philadelphia somebody to worry about from behind the arc.
Best Bet: Parlay Wizards +6.5 at -110 & Under 229.5 at -110 at +264 with Bookmaker
