Washington Wizards vs Philadelphia 76ers 06/02/2021 NBA Playoffs Betting Preview

The Washington Wizards look to extend their season when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Arena on June 2, 2021, for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

Washington stayed alive after pulling off a 122-114 upset win over the Sixers in Game 4. The Wizards survived a poor shooting night by their superstars to cut the Sixers’ series lead to 3-1. Philadelphia lost MVP finalist Joel Embiid to injury early in Game 4. Embiid is questionable for Game 5 and the rest of the Sixers will have to step up if they are to finish the series on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Wizards will play with a hurting Westbrook and without shooter Davis Bertans who is out for the rest of the series.

Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards are not yet done. After losing Games 2 and 3 by a combined 54 points, the Wizards fought back in Game 4 behind 27 points from Bradley Beal and a 21-rebound triple double from Russell Westbrook. Washington fell behind by 11 points in the first quarter but caught a big break when Joel Embiid left the game due to injury.

The Wizards rallied to take the lead and then held on by employing the “Hack-a-Ben” strategy late in the game. Rui Hachimura had a big game with 20 points and 13 rebounds while hitting a big-time corner three-pointer that gave Washington a 118-112 lead with 45.5 seconds left in the game. The Wizards will be without Davis Bertans who suffered a calf injury and is out for 4-6 weeks.

Washington made 37.5% of their 24 three-point attempts and made 11 more free throws than Philadelphia. They also outrebounded the Sixers 57-48 and doubled Philadelphia’s output in blocked shots at 12-6. The Wizards won the battle in the paint, outsourcing the Sixers 48-40 in points in the paint.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers looked like they were ready to sweep the Washington Wizards when they took an early double-digit lead in the first period. But before the quarter was over, All-Star center Joel Embiid hurt his knee after getting a shot blocked by Robin Lopez. Embiid tried to play through the pain but would leave the game for the locker room after the first quarter. His status for Game 5 is uncertain.

Without Embiid, the Sixers leaned on Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons. Harris scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Simmons contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds in the losing effort. Simmons however, shot just 5-11 from the free-throw line and was put in the spotlight in the 4th when the Wizards intentionally fouled him thrice and he went 3-6 during that stretch. Simmons is shooting just 22.2% from the foul line in the series.

Philadelphia shot just 64.7% from the foul line and missed a total of 12 free throws which could’ve easily changed the outcome of the game. They also committed 30 fouls and gave up a total of 42 free throws. The Sixers were also outscored by 14 points in the fastbreak department.

Who Wins?

Washington is 2-4 SU in their last six games played. The Wizards are winless in their last five games played on the road. The Sixers have won five out of their last six games played and are 9-0 SU in their last nine games played at home. Head to head, the Sixers have won eight out of the last nine meetings between these two teams. Philadelphia is also 11-0 in their last 11 home games against Washington.

The Wizards staved off elimination by winning Game 4 despite Westbrook shooting 3-19 and Beal 9-23. However, they can’t expect to win again, especially in Philly if they shoot like that again. Davis Bertans is out of the series with a calf injury so that’s going to be more scoring load for the Wizards’ superstar duo.

I expect Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons to step up in Embiid’s absence and although they will face a stiff challenge from the Wizards who will not go down without a fight, the Sixers have the much deeper team. Washington also lost another offensive option in Bertans so that doesn’t help their cause. I love Westbrook and Beal and their fighting spirit, but this could be Philly’s year, at least in the East.

Prediction: Philadelphia 76ers

Other Bets to Make

The Wizards are 13-6-1 ATS in their last 20 games played and 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16 games played. Washington is 6-1 ATS in their last seven games as road underdogs, 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games played against an opponent with a winning straight up record, 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games after an ATS win, and 19-7 ATS in their last 26 games when playing on 1-day rest.

The Sixers are 4-2 ATS in their last six games played and 4-1 ATS in their last five home games. Philadelphia is also 4-1 ATS in their last five games as home favorites, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games as playoff favorites, 13-6 ATS in their last 19 games against an opponent with a losing straight up record, and 5-1 ATS in their last six games after an ATS loss.

You have to be concerned with the Sixers covering the spread, especially with Embiid uncertain of playing in this game and Simmons’ atrocious free-throw shooting. However, I expect Harris and Simmons to fill the gap if Embiid doesn’t play. The Wizards are a tough out but the Sixers have the much deeper team and have the better offense. Philly plays much better at home than on the road and the Wizards are winless in Philadelphia in their last 11 tries. Give me the Sixers here.

Prediction: Sixers -6

The total has gone over in four out of the last five games played by the Wizards. The over is 6-2 in their last eight road games, 5-1 in their last six games after an SU win, 6-2 in their last eight games as the betting underdog, 11-4-1 in their last 16 games as playoff underdogs, 9-4 in their last 13 games when their opponent scores more than 100 points in their previous game, and 5-1 in their last six games against the Eastern Conference.

Head to head, the over is 3-1 in their last four meetings. The total has gone over in eight out of the last 11 meetings in Philadelphia.

These teams have combined to score over 235 points in three out of the four games in this series so this has been a high-scoring affair. Washington led the league in pace during the regular season and the Sixers will want to speed up the game if Embiid is a no-go for this game. Washington doesn’t have the defense to stop the Sixers so they will be trying to outscore them. The Sixers play good defense but will oblige a shootout since they have plenty of scoring options.

Prediction: Over 229.5

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