Washington Wizards vs. Philadelphia 76ers Game 5 Prediction, Playoff Odds
The Sixers might be without star Joel Embiid as Philly opened as a 7-point favourite on the NBA odds with a total of 230.
Wizards vs. 76ers NBA Playoff Odds
Monday’s Game 4 between the 76ers and Wizards from Washington showed exactly why it’s very important for top teams to put away lesser clubs as soon as possible. Philadelphia superstar Joel Embiid might be the most important player to his team in the NBA, and he’s going to finish second for regular-season MVP.
The lone knock on Embiid is that he’s injury-prone, and he left Game 4 with a knee issue. MRI results were pending as of this writing. While the Sixers can still win this series up 3-1 without Embiid, they are not winning in the next round most likely against Atlanta if Embiid is out. Philly is currently +800 to win the NBA title, but those odds will skyrocket if Embiid is seriously hurt. Probably wise to hold your bets on Game 5 vs. the Wizards until his status his known.
Washington is 3-7 against the spread in its past 10 in Philadelphia. The over is 7-3 in those 10.
Washington Wizards
Washington, the NBA’s worst defensive team in the regular season, allowed at least 120 points in losing each of the first three games but “only” 114 in Monday’s eight-point victory, obviously helped by no Joel Embiid after the first quarter. We mentioned the Coach Scott Brooks was expected to make another change to his starting lineup for Game 4, and he inserted bouncy big man Daniel Gafford. He made a difference with 12 points, five blocks and four boards in 26 minutes. He’ll stay in the starting five for sure.
Russell Westbrook broke a tie with Jason Kidd for the third-most playoff career triple-doubles with his 12th, putting up 19 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists. Bradley Beal added 27 points. He became the fourth player in franchise history to score 1,000 career playoff points and is averaging 29.5 in the series. The Wizards finally found a third offensive option with Rui Hachimura blowing up for 20 points and 13 rebounds. Washington is 7-2 ATS in its past nine as an underdog.
Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid entered Game 4 averaging just over 30 points in this series on 67.4 per cent shooting, and this writer has little doubt the Sixers would have swept if he hadn’t left due to a hard fall about seven minutes into Monday’s game. Embiid was able to finish the first quarter but clearly wasn’t right, eventually limped to the locker room and never returned. The Sixers led by three after one but were outscored by a combined 15 over the next two quarters in the 122-114 loss. If Embiid is going to miss time, Dwight Howard would become a major factor for the Sixers.
Philadelphia’s other All-Star is Ben Simmons. Spectacular talent, but he simply can’t shoot jumpers – or from the free-throw line. He entered Game 4 an incredible 0-for-9 from the charity stripe in the series, and the Wizards fouled him intentionally a handful of times at key points in Game 4. Simmons finished 5-for-11 from the line on the way to 13 points with 12 rebounds. Tobias Harris continued his monster series with 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. The Sixers are 9-4 ATS in their past 13 as favourites. We are going to predict this game as if Embiid is NOT playing.
WAS
PHI