Opening night for the NBA is right around the corner, and we are taking a look at the Washington Wizards. This post will continue our NBA odds series as we hand out a Wizards over/under win total prediction and pick.

The Wizards were a little bit of a disappointment last season. Nobody expected them to be great, but they were though to be better than they showed. Unfortunately, the Wizards were riddled with injuries all season. Bradley Beal played just 50 games, Kyle Kuzma played 64, Kristaps Porzingis played 65, and they traded away Rui Hachimura. With all that, the Wizards finished the season 35-47. As a team, the Wizards were bottom-10 in points scored per game. Porzingis was the leading scorer for the Wizards. He averaged 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. Beal averaged 23.2 points, and Kuzma averaged 21.2. The next highest was 13.0 by the player they traded away, Hachimura. Washington had a tough season, and they will look to turn it around this year.

The Wizards had a strange offseason. They got rid of porzingis via trade for Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, and Mike Muscala. The Wizards then traded Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns as part of three-team deal. In return, the Wizards received Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, and Bilal Coulibaly (the seventh pick in the NBA draft). They also got 10 picks out of that trade. The Wizards then traded Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors for Patrick Baldwin Jr, Jordan Poole, and Ryan Rollins. They also got two picks out of that trade. In total, the new players on the Wizards are Shamet, Coulibaly, Jones, Gallinari, Muscala, Baldwin Jr, Rollins, and Poole. Is this enough for the Wizards to have a better season? That is yet to be determined.

Here are the Washington Wizards win total odds, courtesy of FanDuel

Washington Wizards win total Odds

Over: 23.5 (-110)

Under: 23.5 (-110)

Why the Wizards will win over 23.5 games

The reason the over/under is at just 23.5 is because of the Wizards losing Porzingis, and Beal. Those were the two leading scorers for Washington last season, and losing them is a massive hit. There is no question that Washington will have a tough season ahead of them. However, some of their additions can really play. For starters, Jordan Poole is a solid guard that never really got the chance to start for the Warriors. However, he averaged 20.5 points per game last season, and 18.5 points the year before that. Poole is coming into his own as a player, and as a starter last season, Poole scored over 24 points per game. He is a lights out shooter, and he can score just as good as Beal (I truly believe that). Poole is a good player, and he should be able to lead the Wizards in scoring this season.

As for the other players, Muscala will not be a big minutes guy, but he should make some valuable contributions off the bench for Washington. Tyus Jones played 80 games last season, mostly off the bench, and he averaged 10.5 points, and 5.2 assists. Jones will be a solid sixth/seventh man, and give some much needed relief to the starters. Gallinari will need to return to the way he played in his early thirties, but age could be catching up to him. However, he is still a pretty good shooter, and he can knock down some much needed shots in the minutes he is on the court. Coulibaly, the rookie, is going to be solid. He is mainly a defensive presence, but that is going to be important this season. He is extremely athletic, and that could show this season.

The point of all this is to say the Wizards still have some good talent on the team. The starting five will most likely be Poole, Kuzma, Gafford, Coulibaly, and Gallinari. Looking at that lineup, it is not a playoff team. However, it could definitely be good enough to win at least 24 games.

Why the Wizards will win under 23.5 games

Washington does not have a bonafide superstar on their team, and it is going to be interesting to see how Poole, and Kuzma mesh. Those two players will be the leading scorer on the Wizards, but there are not many other players that will average even over 15 points per game. Poole and Kuzma should be expected to contribute 40-45 points together everytime they take the court. That is solid, but they need more scorers. Gallinari, and Jones are the next closest players in points, but I do not expect too much out of them. It is going to be tough for the Wizards to score, and it would not be a surprise to see them in the bottom-10 of the league again. If they can not defend, they will not win more than 23 games this season.

Final Wizards over/under win total prediction and pick

I am a believer in Jordan Poole. I think he can be an All-Star this season, and one of the better scorers in the league as a true starter. It is also no secret that the Eastern Conference is just a little bit weaker than the Western Conference. With that said, I think the Wizards win over 23.5 games this season. I am not sure they make it to 30 wins, but winning 25-29 games is definitely doable.

Final Wizards over/under win total prediction and pick: Over 23.5 (-110)