At least there won’t be any expectations cast on the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

Joel Embiid and Paul George have both been ruled out due to load management and Tyrese Maxey is already out to injury.

So, yeah, of course the Cleveland Cavaliers are a 10.5-point favorite and the Sixers are +370 on the money line. The number might grow between now and tipoff.

Kyle Lowry, Kelly Oubre, Caleb Martin, and Andre Drummond will definitely start, but who’s the fifth guy? Eric Gordon didn’t play a single minute on Tuesday, but he began the season in the starting lineup. Guershon Yabusele and Jared McCain could make strong cases to start, and if not, they will be the top scoring options off the bench.

I assume we’ll see a lot more of Reggie Jackson, KJ Martin, and Jeff Dowtin as well. Hell, maybe even throw Adem Bona some minutes as well.


Meanwhile, the Cavs are 12-0, have scored at least 110 points in 11 of 12 games and had a day of rest on Tuesday, so there’s no doubt that at least in the first half, they should be all over the Sixers.

The first-half spread sits at 6.5 points in favor of the Cavs and the first-quarter line is 3.5. I would look into both of those lines that way you don’t have to sit around and stress the 10.5 number if you’re fading the Sixers. There’s a good chance Cleveland empties its bench early if it’s up big. The Cavs play five of their next six at home, so they’ll be ready to pack it up and get back to Ohio.

If a blowout is in the cards, player props may be difficult to bet from both sides. The Cavs can distribute their scoring between Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.

Sixers player props will likely not show up until later this afternoon. Martin and Oubre points props should be worth looking at, as well as Martin’s rebound props. Martin is averaging 11 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while Oubre is averaging 14.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest.

Drummond is in a tough matchup against Allen and Mobley, so if anything, I would look into the under on his props.

McCain and Yabusele have the most potential, but it all depends on where their prop lines fall. I can’t imagine we’ll get a ton of value on McCain after he went off for 50 points in the last two games. If the number is anywhere between 10 and 15, I would call that the best bet you could make.

Yabusele had 20 points and eight rebounds off the bench on Sunday and had eight more boards on Tuesday. That could be the angle to use with him.

Unfortunately, none of the players in this game are strong candidates for DraftKings’ King of the Court promotion. This is one of those PA betting promos and NJ sportsbook promos where you’re given a token to bet on a single player’s props and if that player records the most points, rebounds, and assists on that day, you are awarded a bonus bet. Jalen Williams of Oklahoma City is my personal choice.

FanDuel is offering a three-leg Same Game Parlay boost and a two-leg double-double boost. I’d look into McCain points, Yabusele rebounds and one of Martin or Oubre’s props if you choose to use the FD SGP boost on Cavs-Sixers. Bet365 is also offering a 30 percent SGP boost for any NBA game on Wednesday’s slate.