Monday night’s highly-anticipated clash between the Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers took on a new look when news of Joel Embiid’s absence broke. The superstar center, and NBA’s second-leading scorer (29.1 ppg), will take a day of planned rest. But, this means good things when taking a look at the Grizzlies vs 76ers odds on WynnBET.
Embiid’s absence gives sports bettors an awesome opportunity to profit despite quelling some of the fireworks in this late January matchup.
The #Sixers center will miss the game because of planned rest. https://t.co/dZShb6eOlX
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) January 31, 2022
Joel Embiid Out
Currently, the odds over at WynnBET project the 76ers as slim 3.5-point home underdogs, with an over/under set at 218. It’s the over/under mark that’s most intriguing and bettors have to pay attention to how the 76ers perform without Embiid to truly understand why.
It’s been a relatively healthy season by Embiid’s standards and Monday night marks just the 12th game he’ll miss so far. But, his nearly 30 points per game opens up a huge hole in the 76ers offense. Keep in mind, the 76ers roll Embiid out with an insane 36.9% usage rate, the highest mark of any player in the league.
Philadelphia’s offense already operates at a bottom-five pace with Embiid on the floor, and their 109.1 team points per game with him in the lineup drops nearly seven points when he’s off the floor. Yes, you heard that right. Seven whole points at 102.5 points per game.
Grizzlies vs 76ers Odds
The 218 over/under mark in these Grizzlies vs 76ers odds actually projects as the third-highest scoring affair on today’s eight-game slate. Bettors should be smashing the under on this game and can do so with relatively favorable -110 odds.
It’s true that Ja Morant’s 26.1 points per game (ninth) and the Grizzlies fourth-highest scoring offense (112.0 ppg) may scare bettors off, but fear not, because these two teams are a force defensively.
Memphis and Philadelphia rank eighth and ninth in defensive net rating, respectively, and the 76ers give up the eighth-fewest opponent points in the league. Add on the fact that the 76ers hit the under in 60.4% of their games and the Grizzlies in more than half (51.0%), this game is shaping up to be a slugfest of intimidating defenses.
Even without Embiid, 76ers fans should be sure to tune in at 7 p.m. EST to check out the brilliance of Morant, and to cash in on tonight’s favorable over/under mark.