Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers continue a West Coast road trip on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The pregame narrative: L.A. will play its first game at Crypto.com Arena since Jan. 18, having just returned from an extensive road trip of its own. The Lakers, who are on a six-game ATS win streak as favourites, are laying 4 points vs. the 76ers.
BET FINDER: Search & Bet!
Check out my same-game parlay 76ers vs. Lakers picks, featuring prop bets on Embiid and Luka Doncic.
-> Join NorthStar Bets to start betting on the NBA
76ers vs. Lakers picks
SGP: Embiid over 28.5 points | Doncic 3+ threes | 76ers +4.5 (+320)
Embiid over 28.5 points (-118): Embiid had a poor shooting night — by his lofty standards — last time out to fall under this number. But I still think his recent body of work is worth getting behind.
Since Dec. 30, Embiid has played every game aside from a quartet of back-to-backs. That's as healthy as anyone can hope or expect him to be at this point.
And in 16 games over that time, here's what he's done offensively (NBA ranks in parentheses):
- 29.6 PPG (4th)
- 19.7 shots/game (6th)
- 8.1 made free throws/game (2nd)
Embiid is getting plenty of shots up, and he's getting to the line pretty much as well as anyone. Naturally, big scoring performances have followed.
-> See player props on Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid & more!
Prior to his 24-point effort on Monday, Embiid had cashed this bet in seven straight games.
NBA SGP pick
Doncic 3+ threes (-275): As the odds indicate, this is the safest and most straightforward leg of the SGP.
Doncic averages 3.6 triples on 10.4 attempts. So we're working with decent efficiency on elite volume (only Steph Curry averages more attempted 3s than Doncic).
And his latest output paints an even rosier picture: Doncic has cashed this milestone prop in 11 straight games, canning 4.6 threes at a 41.6% clip in that span.
-> Build your own NBA SGPs & bet on tonight's action!
Doncic shot just 2-for-9 from deep when he last faced the Sixers (on Dec. 7), but I'm chalking that up to an off-night. As long as his shot volume is in the expected range, I won't be worried at all.
Philadelphia vs. Los Angeles ATS prediction
76ers +4.5 (-117): I'm going to harken back to Dec. 30, which is a mile marker for Embiid's good health and also for a strong run by Philly.
And of course, it makes sense for those things to be intertwined.
From Dec. 30 onward, the Sixers are 13-7 with the ninth-best net rating in the NBA (+3.8). Their defence has been so-so, but the offence has operated at the fourth-best efficiency (118.1 rating).
In that same time frame, the Lakers are 10-9 with a -0.6 net rating. L.A.'s offensive and defensive ratings in that span are both below Philly's.
-> Bet on tonight's 76ers vs. Lakers game!
The Sixers have covered this number in 15 of their past 16 games with Embiid on the floor, and they covered it when they faced the Lakers in December.
L.A. just got back from an eight-game road swing that ended in New York on Tuesday, while Philly has been on the West Coast all week. I like this as a potential upset spot for the visitors.
76ers vs. Lakers picks made at 12:05 p.m. on Feb. 5, 2026.
