76ers vs Bulls player props: Tyrese Maxey continues hot streak, Harden dials in from three

The slumping Philadelphia 76ers stopped the bleeding after losing four of their first five games, defeating the Toronto Raptors 112-90 without star Joel Embiid on Friday night.

Now, they head south of the border for the second game of a back-to-back to face a Chicago Bulls squad who lost to the San Antonio Spurs last night, 129-124 after winning their previous two games.

With Embiid’s status in question for tonight’s game, here’s a look at the best prop bets to play using the FanDuel market ahead of the 76ers-Bulls matchup, the first of four games between the two teams, and the third game of the 76ers’ four game road trip.

After starting the game shooting 10-10 from the field (7-7 from three) with 27 points in the first half, Tyrese Maxey finished with a career high 44-points in last night’s game and has established himself offensively in three of their last four games.

Maxey poured in 25 or more points three of the last four games, while recording three or more assists in that span as well. With how aggressive he has been this week, it’s hard seeing that change, especially since Alex Caruso or DeMar Derozan should spend time guarding him on his end of the floor.

Instead of just taking his points prop, set at 18.5, there’s value in taking the combination of his points and assists to eclipse more than 22.5 combined. If there’s no Embiid for the second straight game, expect the offense to run through James Harden or Maxey.

After struggling shooting from the field during last night’s win over the Raptors, James Harden is due for a big game not only on the scoring sheet, but from beyond the three-point line as well.

Before last night’s 0-3 shooting behind the arc, Harden made three or more such shots in the previous two games, finishing 3-6 for the three-point line against the Raptors earlier in the week, and 5-10 against the Pacers.

The Bulls are one of the worst teams defending the three-point shot, giving up 14.7 made threes per game. The Spurs shot 16-38 from deep last night, meaning there will be opportunities for Harden to get his shot back going tonight.

It could be a big night, all-in-all, for the 76ers two guards.

Bulls leading scorer DeMar DeRozan has an old-school game. He lives underneath the arc and has an advanced post-game presence that only few other wing players in the NBA can rival.

The offense runs through him, and if he’s matched up with either Tobias Harris or Tyrese Maxey, I expect them to go down-low with DeRozan to get him going early. This prop is worth the flyer, assuming Embiid can’t go again tonight.

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