The Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers continue their second half of the season on the road against the Washington Wizards. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a 76ers-Wizards prediction and pick.

The 76ers are winners of seven of their last ten games and three in a row. They will look to build on that streak when they head to Washington tonight. Joel Embiid is probable to play with Simmons out for tonight's contest. Embiid and Simmons were both selected to the All-Star game but found out on Sunday that they were ineligible to play due to contract tracing.

The 76ers are playing on back-to-back nights having defeated the Chicago Bulls 127-105 yesterday without Embiid and Simmons.

For the Wizards they have started to play better as of late. However, superstar guard Bradley Beal is questionable for the game due to left knee soreness. The last time these two faced off Beal put up a career-high 60 points in a losing effort.

This is the third meeting between the two teams with Philadelphia taking the previous two.

Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening 76ers-Wizards NBA odds.

NBA Odds: 76ers-Wizards Odds

Philadelphia 76ers -4.5(-175)

Washington Wizards +4.5 (+155)

Over 234 Points (-114)

Under 234 Points (-106)

Why The 76ers Could Cover The Spread

Doc Rivers, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Danny Green, Sixers predictions, NBA

 

The 76ers have been dominant all season long. Leading the East by 0.5 game over the Brooklyn Nets, they will be looking to increase their lead with a win against the lowly Wizards. The 76ers are 9-9 on the road this season but are familiar with the Wizards having faced them twice. They will be looking to complete the season sweep with a win tonight.

Embiid is having an MVP-type season and is one of the favorites to win the award. He leads the team with 30.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. In fact, this game will feature the two highest-scoring players in the league in Embiid and Beal. The 76ers will have to make up for the absence of Simmons who is out due to health and safety reasons. Expect Shake Milton to get the start at point guard.

Tobias Harris has been impressive this season. Harris is averaging a career-best 20.3 points per game and his 7.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game show how well-rounded his game has gotten.

Philadelphia has now covered in five of their last six games and is 20-15-2 ATS on the year. With the spread being reasonable at 4.5, expect the 76ers to cover.

Why The Wizards Could Cover The Spread

Wizards

Washington has been playing much better as of late, winning eight of its last 12 games. However, the 76ers are a bad matchup for them. Look for Philadelphia to win rather easily on Friday evening.

They will face a 76ers squad that is coming off another game last night, so they should have the fresher legs. The Wizards have won six of their last ten game and have seemed to have to right the ship after a poor start losing 17 of their first 23 games.

The Wizards are getting strong play out of Russell Westbrook who is averaging nearly a triple-double. The complementary players of Rui Hachimura and David Bertans need to step up if they are going to have any chance for the upset.

The Wizards will need Beal to play if they want to have a chance. If he's out then all the heavy lifting will fall on the shoulders of Westbrook. If he does play then the Wizards do have a good chance that the All-Star guard will go off and keep things close

Final 76ers-Wizards Prediction & Pick

Even with Ben Simmons sidelined I think that this is a mismatch for the Wizards. They can't guard Joel Embiid, albeit no one's been able to do that this season. Even when they got a 60-point performance from Beal back in January, it wasn't enough to take down the juggernaut that is the 76ers this season.

Expect Embiid to feast on whichever big man is on the floor for Washington. Harris will finish with another 20+ point night and Seth Curry will be key from downtown to help them knock down the Wizards.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: PHI 112, WSH 102 (PHI -4.5)