76ers Favored Over Wizards On The Road

The Philadelphia 76ers (16-16, 14-18 ATS) visit the Washington Wizards (17-15, 14-17-1) at Capital One Arena in their first meeting of the season on Sunday. The 76ers are 1-4 in their last five games while the Wizards will look to win their third straight outing.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The 76ers opened as 2-point road favorites with the total set at 208.5 points. The OVER is 4-1 in the last five meetings between the two teams. Washington is 2-5 ATS in its last seven contests while Philly is 1-4 ATS in its last five. The 76ers have owned the Wizards in recent years with a 9-1 record over the last 10 meetings.

76ers News & Notes

The 76ers fell 98-96 to the Atlanta Hawks in their most recent outing on Thursday. Joel Embiid led all scorers with 23 points plus 10 boards for a double-double but an offensively starved Philadelphia squad didn’t give the center much in terms of support.

Philadelphia has averaged 99 points per game over its last seven outings, scoring less than 100 points four times over that span. The 76ers haven’t been great offensively this season, ranking 25th in the NBA (105.4 points per game), but they’ve been even worse as of late despite excellent showings from Embiid, who’s up to 27.4 points per game in the month of December.

Tyrese Maxey, Danny Green, Andre Drummond, Georges Niang, and Shake Milton (health and safety protocols) are all out for Sunday.

Wizards News & Notes

The Wizards beat the New York Knicks 124-117 on Thursday to win their second straight game. Spencer Dinwiddie posted 21 points and 12 assists for a double-double while Corey Kispert dropped 20 of his own in the victory.

Washington hit a rough patch earlier this month, losing seven of eight games from December 3-16, but bounced back with an unlikely win over the Utah Jazz last Saturday to end the skid. The Wizards, however, will be without leading scorer Bradley Beal (23.3 points per game) as he entered health and safety protocols on Thursday.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (health and safety protocols) is also out while Rui Hachimura (conditioning) is questionable.

See Odds Shark’s Best NBA Sites

How Philadelphia Will Cover

The 76ers have dominated the Wizards in recent years while averaging 123.3 points per game over the last 10 meetings. Embiid is scoring at an elite pace while Washington is missing its top offensive weapon in Beal. The teams are pretty evenly matched, but Philadelphia is the favorite for a reason and should find a way to cover.

How Washington Will Cover

The Wizards have been bad in December but they’ve strung two wins together now and may finally be out of their rut. They’ve also been excellent at home, going 8-4 this season at Capital One Arena and 14-5 in their last 19 games in Washington.

Computer Pick: 76ers -3.5

Are you looking for more NBA predictions such as the Nets +1? See our NBA Computer Picks page for all the Christmas Day picks.