The 8-seed Washington Wizards stop by Wells Fargo Center Sunday to play the host, 1-seed Philadelphia 76ers, in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference First Round playoff series. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Wizards-76ers odds and lines, with NBA picks and predictions.
Washington earned its playoff berth via play-in tournament after losing in the 7- vs. 8-seed matchup with the Boston Celtics but went on to crush the 9-seed Indiana Pacers 142-115 the “loser goes home” game Thursday.
The Wizards have an All-NBA-caliber backcourt featuring the NBA’s second-leading scorer Bradley Beal (31.3 points per game) and walking triple-double Russell Westbrook (22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 11.7 assists per game).
Philly ended its regular-season campaign with back-to-back wins over the Orlando Magic and is 7-2 this month (5-4 against the spread).
This season, the Sixers were powered by their defense (second in defensive rating) and MVP finalist Joel Embiid who averaged 28.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.
The Sixers won all three regular-season meetings with the Wizards and has beaten them in five straight, but Washington covered two of three meetings with Philly this season.
Wizards at 76ers: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:00 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Wizards +260 (bet $100 to win $260) | 76ers -350 (bet $350 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Wizards +7.5 (-110) | 76ers -7.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 228.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Wizards at 76ers: Key injuries
Wizards
- Nothing affecting gambling odds.
76ers
- Nothing affecting gambling odds.
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Wizards at 76ers: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
76ers 121, Wizards 117
Money line (ML)
PASS even though I’m going to take Washington plus the points because there are too many “strength on weakness” edges for Philly in this series.
For instance, the Sixers force the second-highest rate of turnovers and are second in FTA/FG rate while the Wizards give up the fifth-most points off of turnovers per game and have the third-worst defensive FTA/FG rate.
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Against the spread (ATS)
I’m going to back the more revved-up team who has played in recent must-win games and BET the WIZARDS +7.5 (-110) for 1 unit.
Washington obviously just played in the two play-in tournament games, its regular-season finale was with the 10th-place Charlotte Hornets for play-in seeding.
On the other hand, Philly hasn’t played a meaningful game all month with the exception of a road game against the Miami Heat on May 13.
For instance, the Wizards has several impressive victories such as vs. the Los Angeles Lakers (twice), Utah Jazz (twice), Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets.
Lastly, Washington has covered three of four and five of the last seven meetings with Philly.
Over/Under (O/U)
“LEAN” to the OVER 228.5 (-110) for a half unit because both teams like to get out on transition and excel at getting to the charity stripe.
For example, I’ve already mentioned Philly’s second-highest FTA/FG rate but Washington is third. Also, Philly is third in fast-break points per game and Washington is first in pace.
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