Legal Sports Betting

Sixers Are 1.5 Point Underdogs Without Joel Embiid & Paul George, But Still Have Their Best Player: Tyrese Maxey

By Kyle Pagan

Published: Nov 19th, 2025 · 3:36 PM EST

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In previous years, a Sixers team playing without Paul George and Joel Embiid would be doomed from the start. 

It’s a credit to the current Sixers depth, and evolution of Tyrese Maxey as the team’s best player, that they are only a 1.5–point underdog on Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors. 

The Sixers also won’t have Kelly Oubre, but they do have VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and Andre Drummond to support Maxey. The depth pieces, Dominick Barlow, Justin Edwards and Trendon Watford, are reliable enough to get through a game like this. 

Just take the 10-point win on November 8 against the Raptors as an example of the depth. Watford exploded for 20 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists with Embiid still on the floor. 

That defeat was the only one suffered by the Raptors in the last nine games. There’s your beacon of positivity for a game the odds suggest won’t go in the Sixers favor. 

As it always does right now, any bets start with Maxey, who had 31 points against the Raptors and 30+ points in four of his last five games.

Maxey is -210 to record 30+ points at BetMGM. You can buy that down with BetMGM’s NBA Odds Boost Token. 

You could keep it simple, too, by playing Maxey 30+ points and Andre Drummond 10+ rebounds together at -160. Drummond is on a run of four straight double-doubles with at least 11 boards in each game. 

If you’re looking for a more lucrative way to play Wednesday’s game, I’d go for SGP based on some of the stats from the meeting 11 days ago at NJ betting apps.

Scottie Barnes is Toronto’s do-everything guy. His nine rebounds and assists on November 8 were low for his standard. He’s had at least six rebounds and six assists in the last three games. 

Immanuel Quickley is on a run of eight straight games with multiple three-pointers made. 

I’d add Barnes 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists as well as Quickley to make 2+ threes with Drummond 10+ rebounds, Grimes 2+ threes and Edgecombe 5+ rebounds to get to +420 at bet365.

Grimes knocked down multiple threes in every home game this season and Edgecombe is averaging 5.8 rebounds per game. He’ll be important on the boards with no true backup center active with Adem Bona out.