NBA Playoff Betting: Washington Wizards vs Philadelphia 76ers Betting Pick, Odds, Prediction & Lines

 

Game 2 of the East Conference Playoffs First Round between Philadelphia and Washington takes place on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center. The 76er came out as winners in the first matchup on Sunday. However, they had to work for it as they were behind at halftime. It was the third consecutive win for the Sixers. They have been in a good form near the end of the season, and have now lost only 4 times in the last 15 games. Overall, Philadelphia is 50-23 SU and 38-31-4 ATS. The Wizards come to the first round after playing two play-in contests. After losing to the Celtics in the first game, they easily dealt with the Hornets to clinch the playoff spot. They’ve been one of the best teams in the league in the second half of the season and now hold a 35-40 SU record after going 17-32 earlier in the campaign. Against the spread, their record is 38-31-4. Tonight will be the fourth time two teams meet this season. Philly won all four games so far.

Line Movement

The opening odds favored the Sixers by -7.5. Since then, the line has moved a bit, to -8. The total opened at 230 and hasn’t moved since.

Notes on Washington Wizards

After a full week of rest, the 76ers were expected to cruise in the first game against the Wizards. However, Washington put in a fantastic effort and created a lot of troubles for Philly. Still, the question is can the Wizards play any better than this and steal a road win against one of the best teams in the NBA. In the first game, everything went their way. The Wizz shot 56% from the field and outrebounded the 76ers 41 to 40. Washington’s bench outscored Philadelphia’s 38-26. Plus, Joel Embiid got into the early foul trouble. Still, all this wasn’t enough to get the win. One area the Wizards certainly need improvement is their defense. Once again, they were on the receiving end of more than 120 points. The Wizards are allowing their opponents league-high 118.51 points per game.

Deni Avdija and Thomas Bryant are the only unavailable players for Washington tonight.

Notes on Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers struggled in the first game but will be encouraged by the fact they won despite poor performance. Their shooting was particularly off on Sunday. Philly shot only 31.3% from the deep, including 1-from-8 in the opening quarter. Early foul trouble for Embiid messed up their rotation, and they struggled to get going throughout the first half. Still, with their best player on the floor, the 76ers dominated and were plus -20 in those minutes. The big man finished the game with 30 points. Tobias Harris also had a big game and kept his team alive while Embiid was on the bench. He scored 37 and added 6 rebounds. The Philadelphia’s calling card, their defense, stepped up when it mattered and kept the Wizards without a field goal for four minutes in the crucial 4th quarter.

Coach Rivers has all his players available for tonight.

Betting Pick: Philadelphia -8

The Wizards gave their best on Sunday and still lost by 7 points. It’s hard to see them repeating such performance while Philly has a lot of room to improve. Washington simply has no answer for Embiid. We can expect the Cameroonian to avoid foul trouble this time and dominate even more.