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Philadelphia 76ers @ Portland Trailblazers
Spread: PHI -5
O/U: 228.5
Injuries
Philadelphia
Shake Milton - OUT
Mike Scott - OUT
Portland
Nassir Little - IN
CJ McCollum - OUT
Jusuf Nurkic - OUT
Zach Collins - OUT
Defense vs. Position (DvP)
PHI - 19th vs. PG / 14th vs. SG / 25th vs. SF / 7th vs. PF / 2nd vs. C
POR - 23rd vs. PG / 29th vs. SG / 7th vs. SF / 9th vs. C
MVP/CPT
Embiid has put up 50+ DKP in 7-of-9 games overall and is coming off a 63 pointer against the Kings last time out. There is nobody in Portland -- or the entire league -- that can stop this version of Embiid right about now. He’s playing like an MVP and we should use him in the MVP slot on Thursday night.
Without CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic this season, Lillard has been great posting a 32% USG and 1.4 FP/min. Although Philadelphia’s defense is strong overall, they only rank 19th vs. PG’s, so they can be exploited there. Lillard has 50 actual upside anytime he steps on the floor.
We’re getting a very nice floor out of Simmons right now as he’s put up 37+ DKP in four straight and 35 or more in 8-of-10 overall. What we’ve loved out of Simmons recently is the shot attempts. He’s taken double-digit shots in five straight after a lot of lackluster offensive outputs. Simmons is going to be a sneaky CPT on this slate and although I prefer Embiid and Lillard, you can use Simmons to be different.
Mid-Tier
Steady, steady, steady. Harris has put up 33+ DKP in eight straight and 9-of-10 overall. Harris put up 33.3 DKP against Portland earlier in the year as well. He was a borderline CPT option as well, I went with Simmons over him due to Simmons’ ability to notch a triple-double.
It’s a tough spot going up against Joel Embiid , but Portland has been very reliant upon Kanter since Nurkic and McCollum went down. Kanter averages 1.13 DKP/game without them. Kanter has seven double-doubles in his last eight games.
Trent has taken 16+ shots in four straight games and 13+ in nine straight overall. He has been an elite scorer for Portland during the time they’ve been missing a lot of key guys. Trent has a 21% USG without McCollum and Nurkic this year. Trent can be scoring dependent at times but guess what, he’s scoring!
Value Tier
Derrick Jones Jr.
Jones’ minute restriction was lifted last time out and he played 30 minutes last time out, putting up 21 FP. He isn’t a high usage player, but he’s a good rebounder and averages right around a block and a steal per game, which is really where his value lies.
Look, it’s not sexy, but Korkmaz is in play. Shake Milton has been ruled out and Korkmaz has found his way back into the rotation. He’s scored 13 actual points in three straight and 13+ in 4-of-5 overall. That’s what Korkmaz does; he scores. Not to mention, Portland ranks 29th against the shooting-guard position in DvP this season.