NBA Futures and Props | When the Philadelphia 76ers signed Paul George to a four-year, $212 million contract back in the summer, it looked like the Eastern Conference’s Next Year’s Champions had finally won an off-season and could finally challenge the other top teams.
However, nothing but chaos has ensued. The 76ers started 3-13. Joel Embiid has appeared in just four of those 16 games because of suspension (caused by going off on a reporter) or knee injury management.
George, always an injury risk, has hyperextended his left knee twice, so he’s only played in eight games.
Tyrese Maxey, an All-Star guard last year, has only played in 10 of those games due to hamstring issues.
So now, instead of looking down the standings at potential first-round opponents, the 76ers now have to work hard to get into the play-in tournament.
The exact number of wins that will take is unknown, but getting at least 35 seems like a necessity, even in the lesser conference. The drama is still unfolding, though.
Maxey put Embiid on blast in a team meeting for being “late to everything,” which leaked into the press, and then George and Embiid called out the anonymous leaker.
However, through those 16 games, their three stars have been on the floor for just six minutes together. Should you continue to fade Philadelphia in your sports betting?
Or should you consider them as a value pick in your NBA Futures and Props choices? That’s just one of the questions we answer in this article.
NBA Futures and Props to Make Right Now | 2024/25 Season
Philadelphia 76ers to Win the Eastern Conference (+1600)
You might think that the 76ers are 3-1 in the games Embiid has played and 0-12 in all the others. Actually, they’re 0-4 with him and 3-9 without him. Last year, Embiid played in 39 games and the team went 31-8. In the other 43 games, they went just 16-27. Embiid has been drawn into atypical drama, starting with questions about his desire to play – his knee injury management continues to keep him off the floor.
Embiid noted his role on the gold medal-winning Team USA in the Paris Olympics, calling that a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The time he could have spent resting during the Olympics was instead spent helping to win that medal. Did it hurt his standing with the rest of the team? Not, apparently, as much as staying away from practices and meetings when he’s injured, a habit that has rubbed Maxey, and other 76ers, the wrong way. Between age and injury, this is a team trending downward – so avoid this bet.
^Cleveland Cavaliers to Win the Eastern Conference (+450)
The Cleveland Cavaliers have roared out to a 17-1 record to start the 2024-25 campaign. One reason for this terrific start is the willingness of Donovan Mitchell to reduce his usage. He played 35.8 minutes per game in 2022-23, his first season with the team. Last year, it was virtually the same (35.3). He had 79.1 touches per game last year, which ranked in the top 15.
While that sounds like an elite achievement (and might be, with a younger player), that workload has caused him to fall apart in the playoffs. In 2023, he looked cooked against the Knicks and had one of his worst playoff series ever. He carried the Cavaliers on his back through the first round last year, but his knee pain was evident. By the time he had to leave the second-round series against Boston with a calf strain, it seemed almost like an injury of mercy.
Cavs this Season
So far in 2024-25, he is playing just 31.2 minutes per game, and he’s only exceeded 35 minutes once. That’s about a 12% reduction in load, and since the Cavaliers’ bench ranks seventh in scoring, that has given Mitchell more time on the bench during games. Another metric that has dropped is touches per game, which are way down to 57.7%. Evan Mobley and Darius Garland join him, averaging 55 or more touches per game. That means less wear and tear – and it also means more off-ball plays. He is attempting 3.1 catch-and-shoot three-balls per game and nailing 51% of them. Could this keep him healthy in the playoffs? It could – and a better Cavaliers roster could reverse that script against Boston this time around. Make this bet.
^Victor Wembanyama to Win 2025 Defensive Player of the Year (-186)
Wemby came in second in balloting for this award last year, behind Rudy Gobert. That included 19 first-place votes, 44 second-place votes and 18 third-place votes. That put him in a tie for the best finish in the voting for any first-year player. At the age of 20, he could have won it last year, although it’s an award that has never gone to a rookie. Team standing plays a significant role in this award, and the San Antonio Spurs were (and are) still bottom-feeders in the West. If you look back at the last 10 winners of this award, they’ve all gone to the playoffs. No player has ever won the award before their fourth year (Kawhi Leonard in his fourth season with San Antonio).
Victor Wembanyama this season:
— NBA World (@NBAW0RLD24) November 27, 2024
— Leading the NBA in blocks
— Leading the NBA in stocks
— The Spurs are 8th in defense
— 7th in STL by Centers
— Players are shooting 95-245 (38.8%) when guarded by him this season (Best in NBA)
Would be the youngest DPOY in NBA history. 👽 pic.twitter.com/4J49ekDVY1
Wembanyama in the Defense
If you look at the numbers, though, Wemby could have won last year, and much of the noise around him winning this year comes from a sense that he was also great at defense last year. Wemby had more stocks (steals + blocks) than Gobert last year, but he had fewer win shares and a (slightly) worse defensive rating. There is an aura of the special that hovers over Wemby, though. No other player has ever gone over 1,500 points, 250 blocks and 100 made three-balls in a season. He is the big man of the future – handles, quick feet to the rim from the perimeter, combined with rim defense. However, wreaking havoc wasn’t enough to get him by an elite defender last year. It might be this year, even if the Spurs miss the postseason. Make this bet.
^Dallas Mavericks to Win the NBA Championship (+1050)
On Wednesday night, the Mavericks (10-8) host the New York Knicks (10-7) that could very well turn into an NBA Finals matchup. Four of the Mavs’ eight losses came in a four-game skid that saw Dallas lose by no more than three points in any contest. They have followed that up with a five-game winning streak as this team shows a mental toughness that we had forgotten to associate with this team after that 2011 title. Luka Doncic has put this team on his back, getting them further in the playoffs than they had any business going without legitimate rim protection.
Then, after Mark Cuban relinquished control over the team’s basketball operations as part of his sale of the franchise to the Adelson family, Nico Harrison brought Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington in at the trade deadline. Adding Gafford to the center group, which already included phenomenal rookie Dereck Lively, suddenly gave the team alley-oop threats, rim protection and rebounding for the whole game. Washington gave the team outside shooting, rebounding and stingy defense.
In the off-season, the team got 3-and-D specialist Naji Marshall from New Orleans and pulled Klay Thompson off an unlikely scrap heap in Golden State, and the results have been promising. Kyrie Irving continues to produce and execute at an elite level, finishing games as elegantly as Doncic starts them. This is a team that is never out of games, and even when it was clear they were one superstar short against Boston in last year’s Finals, they didn’t panic, and they didn’t blow things up. Instead, they went and got one more superstar. Make this bet.
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