Nets vs. Wizards Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
It’s a battle between the top two scorers in the NBA as Kevin Durant leads the streaking Brooklyn Nets into Washington to face the reeling Wizards.
The Nets are 7.5-point favourites to win on the NBA odds with a monstrous total of 244 points.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
In the only meeting these teams have had this season, the Wizards came away with a 123-122 win, despite a 30-point performance from Kyrie Irving and a 28-point performance from Kevin Durant. That game was back on January 3 though, or as people will describe it in the future, the pre-James Harden era. Sports Interaction bettors clearly don’t put any stock in the game, as 82 per cent are taking the Nets on Sunday.
If there’s one consistent thing you can bank on with the Nets, it’s scoring. Brooklyn has hit the Over in 15 of their last 16 games, including five straight road games. In the past they have struggled to cover against Washington, going 1-4 against the spread in their last five games against the Wizards. For the season, Brooklyn is 9-12 ATS, covering in three of eight road games.
Believe it or not, the Wizards have actually won eight of their last nine home games against Brooklyn. This years’s Wizards are a little different, however, and they’ve only managed to pick up a single win in seven home games, this season. Washington has hit the Over five times at home and four times on the road and is 6-9 ATS.
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets picked up their eighth win in 10 games in style, crushing the OKC Thunder 147-125. The franchise scoring record win over OKC helped move Brooklyn to the top of the league for points per game (121), field goal percentage (49.5) and effective field goal percentage (57.7). James Harden dropped 25 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists on the Thunder and is now averaging 11.8 assists per game as a Net, but is listed as questionable for Sunday with a left thigh contusion.
Kevin Durant (averaging 30.5 points per game), the league’s No. 2 scorer, was held out of Friday’s game as a precautionary move, but is expected to play on Sunday. Nine Brooklyn players hit double-digits on Friday, including Bruce Brown, who got the start in Durant’s absence. Brown finished with a season-high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting and is shooting 59.0 per cent overall.
Washington Wizards
With only three wins on the year, frustrations seem to be boiling over in Washington. Russell Westbrook (averaging 18.9 points per game) looks particularly frustrated and was ejected in the Wizards 116-100 loss to the Hawks on Friday. Westbrook had multiple verbal altercations with Hawks guard Rajon Rondo, just a couple days after getting into it with former Wizard John Wall in a loss to the Rockets.
Since the departure of John Wall, Bradley Beal has more than stepped up for Washington. Beal is having a career year and leads the league in scoring, averaging 34.7 points per game, 5.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists. Riding a four game losing streak there is only so much Beal can do. If players like Westbrook don’t step up on Sunday, this one could get ugly.
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