Wizards Host Pacers For Final Playoff Spot In East

Washington (34-39 SU, 41-31-1 ATS) was blown out in its first play-in game on Tuesday, but the Wizards have a chance to redeem themselves and earn a postseason berth with a victory over Indiana (35-38, 33-40). Washington is 3-0 SU against the Pacers this year and opened as a 3.5-point favorite.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Washington was favored by at least 4 points in each of the three meetings this year since March 29, but opened as 3.5-point home favorites for the play-in contest. The Wizards were bet down to -3 by Thursday morning while heavy action on the UNDER had dropped the total to 237 at most sportsbooks.

Indiana News & Notes

The Pacers might have played their best game of the season in Tuesday’s play-in contest against Charlotte, blitzing the Hornets for 40 first-quarter points on their way to a 144-117 rout.

Offensively, Indiana showed a lot of balance with eight different players scoring at least 12 points and no one scoring more than Oshae Brissett’s 23. Center Domantas Sabonis came within one assist of a triple-double despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter, and the Pacers also punished Charlotte from the perimeter by knocking down 16 of their 35 three-point attempts.

Indiana may have been sparked by the return of point guard Malcolm Brogdon, who had 16 points and eight assists in just 21 minutes after missing the Pacers’ previous 10 games with a hamstring injury.

Brogdon’s return couldn’t have come at a better time for Indiana, which found out hours before the game that Caris LeVert would be going into COVID-19 health and safety protocol, meaning he’ll be sidelined for up to two weeks. LeVert had scored at least 30 points in four of his previous 11 games.

Don’t expect Indiana’s offense to let up now that the Pacers are headed out on the road. Indiana has gone OVER the total in five of its last six as the visitors and 19 of its last 26. The Pacers have been an even stronger OVER bet when catching points on the highway, clearing the total in 13 of their last 16 as road dogs.

Washington News & Notes

On Tuesday in Boston, the Wizards looked nothing like the team that won 17 of its final 23 regular-season games to earn a berth in the play-in tournament. Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook combined to shoot just 16-for-43 from the field for 42 points, and most of their teammates had the deer-in-the-headlights look as well in Washington’s first postseason game in three years.

Perimeter sniper Davis Bertans missed all seven of his three-point attempts as Washington was an abysmal 3-for-21 from behind the arc, and starting point guard Raul Neto recorded zero points, one rebound and one assist in 17 minutes.

So how will the Wizards respond after laying an egg? Recent history suggests they’ll respond well. Washington is 7-0-1 ATS in its last eight games following a SU defeat, and the Wizards haven’t dropped consecutive games with Beal in the lineup since early April. Westbrook is particularly primed for a bounce-back effort after notching just five assists against Boston – the fewest for the triple-double machine in nearly two months.

Beal’s health has to be a concern for Washington, however, as the superstar guard continues to nurse a strained left hamstring that forced him to sit out three of the Wizards’ last four regular-season games. Beal’s 22 points against Boston were nearly 10 fewer than his season average and he was often seen grabbing the back of his leg and stretching during timeouts.

“Call me one-leg bandit if you want,” Beal told the Washington Post after the game, noting he’ll continue to fight through the pain and doesn’t anticipate he’ll make the injury any worse by playing.

Betting Pick: OVER 237

These teams combined to score at least 256 points in each of their three meetings this year, including 265 when they faced each other two weeks ago.