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

The LA Lakers are set to face the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.

In bringing their immaculate 10-0 road record to the 76ers game, the Lakers are looking to extend their franchise-record road winning streak with a victory in Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia 76ers sit atop the East with a 12-6 record but are coming off a 119-104 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday.

Franchise center Joel Embiid missed the game with back tightness. However, he could play against the LA Lakers on Wednesday.

Combined Starting 5 (LA Lakers vs Philadelphia 76ers Prediction)

Joel Embiid #21 and Dakota Mathias #33 of the Philadelphia 76ers in action against the Miami Heat at the Wells Fargo Center on January 12, 2021 (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

With the best record in the league, the LA Lakers won their third straight game after losing to the Golden State Warriors at home last week.

The Lakers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-108 on Monday and now own an NBA-best 14-4 record. All four of their losses have surprisingly come on their home floor.

The Philadelphia 76ers have to be wary as they face LA’s road warriors and will hope that Joel Embiid is at full strength upon his return.

As we preview this NBA matchup, we now present to you our combined starting 5 for the LA Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers match.

Point Guard - Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers)

Ben Simmons will be a tough cover for anyone on the LA Lakers roster. At 6-foot-11, the Philadelphia 76ers point guard can facilitate the offense with ease as he towers over almost any perimeter defender.

However, Simmons is averaging career-lows in scoring (12.8 points) and field goal percentage (52.5), even though his rebounds (8.4) are up from a season ago. He is slowly working his way back from a couple of injuries that he sustained last year but is still a force to be reckoned with.

More importantly, Simmons demonstrated last season that he’s as good as any defender in this league.

Here's how some of the league's best offensive guys fared when defended by Ben Simmons per match-up data (pinch of saltBeal: 6 for 15, 15 pointsSiakiam: 5 for 19, 11 pointsTatum: 5 for 16, 18 pointsWestbrook: 4 for 14, 8 pointsTrae, 2 for 11, 5 pointsLBJ, 2 for 9, 5 points pic.twitter.com/fwwIank0vu

— Paul Headley NBA (@PaulHeadleyNBA) May 10, 2020

His matchup with the LA Lakers' LeBron James will be closely monitored as the two players will likely guard one another during stretches in this game.

Shooting Guard - Seth Curry (Philadelphia 76ers)

Seth Curry is in the midst of a breakout season, with career-highs in points (15.6), assists (3.0), and 3-point percentage (53.7).

The 7-year veteran has found a home with the Philadelphia 76ers, not just as a spot-up shooter but as an all-around scorer.

Seth Curry has been out for two weeks and he's already in rhythm.He has 8 points (3/4 FG, 2/3 3PT) in 6 minutes. pic.twitter.com/2LtYLGae4u

— Tom West (@TomWestNBA) January 23, 2021

Curry will keep the LA Lakers’ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso busy on defense. Interestingly, the aforementioned three players are among the top four 3-point shooters in the league this season.

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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