LA Lakers vs Philadelphia 76ers Prediction - Combined Starting 5 featuring LeBron James and Joel Embiid

Small Forward - LeBron James (LA Lakers)

LeBron James must have been warming up for this game against Ben Simmons last Monday.

King James recorded a season-high 46 points against his hometown team Cleveland Cavaliers, making one clutch basket after another to give the LA Lakers another road win.

LEBRON JAMES vs CAVS 🔥46 PTS19/26 FG7/11 3PT8 REB6 AST2 BLK2 STLpic.twitter.com/NVwgZyUW1v

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 26, 2021

James and Joel Embiid are among the top contenders for the MVP award, and this is a chance for the LA Lakers forward to put his stamp on it early in the season.

At 25.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game with a 24.97 PER, James is certainly among the favorites to earn the Maurice Podoloff Trophy at the end of the season.

Power Forward - Anthony Davis (LA Lakers)

Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers goes to the hoop against Josh Richardson #0 and Dwight Powell #7 of the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)

The LA Lakers are winning even though Anthony Davis has not been producing at the same rate as last year.

At 21.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game, he is still one of the premier players in this league. The career-best assists numbers are encouraging, given that he is looking to find the open man regularly.

Moreover, Davis’ efforts fuel the NBA’s no. 1 defense, which is why the LA Lakers are at the top of the standings. When he is fully engaged defensively as he was in the Cavaliers game, Los Angeles is tough to beat.

Should he face Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in the post, his defense will be tested even more than it was against Andre Drummond.

Center - Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)

Joel Embiid is the favorite of a select number of analysts who see the Philadelphia 76ers center as having the finest season of his career.

The numbers back up their claims with Embiid putting up career-bests in scoring (27.7), field goal percentage (55.4), 3-point percentage (40.5), free-throw percentage (83.3), steals (1.3), and PER (31.0).

Joel Embiid with the three point dagger. This man is 7 feet tall. pic.twitter.com/He0CMOVFQu

— Harrison Grimm (@Harrison_Grimm) January 23, 2021

And that’s not all. He’s also among the league leaders in rebounds (7th at 11.5) while being in the top 20 in blocks (18th at 1.4). Simply put, Embiid is filling up the stat sheet, and the experts are taking notice.

Perhaps even more appealing to MVP voters is the Philadelphia 76ers’ no. 1 standing in the Eastern Conference standings.

A date with the LA Lakers should boost his chances to win the award if he outplays Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell while leading his team to a win.

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