For the first time in six years, the Philadelphia 76ers look set to return to the postseason. Their long-suffering fans were told to “Trust the Process”, and now Sam Hinkie’s plan is paying dividends. Philadelphia is 25-25 and in eighth place in the East at this point of the season. The young guns have looked great and are starting to come together as a unit.
After a tough road stretch, they will now take on one of the best teams in the East early in the week. The Washington Wizards finally started to break through last season and are looking to take the next step themselves.
This war on the floor will go down Tuesday, February 6, 2018, at 8 p.m. ET at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The game will be televised live on TNT. We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Tuesday schedule.
Opening NBA Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Philadelphia has lost four of its last five, but all four of those losses came on the road and they were underdogs in three of the four. The only bad loss in the bunch was against Brooklyn, where the Sixers were a 7.5-point favorite. Still, this is one of the better teams to bet on this year. Philly is 27-22-1 ATS altogether and 14-9 ATS at home.
This team has been one of the better home teams in the NBA in recent weeks. The 76ers have won, and covered, four straight at home, with three of those wins coming against opponents with winning records.
The Wizards are hot right now. Washington has won, and covered, four in a row and knocked off Toronto and Oklahoma City as an underdog during that stretch. Although the combination of Bradley Beal and John Wall means this team can pop off from three, the Wizards have relied on their defense on the road. Under is 17-9 in Washington’s road games.
Key Injury
This hasn’t been the best season for John Wall. Wall’s numbers have taken a dip across the board since he signed a mammoth extension this offseason, and now he is expected to be out for the next six weeks. However, although he is the best player on the team, the Wizards have not been affected too much by his absence so far.
That’s because Bradley Beal has stepped up in a big way without Wall in the backcourt. Beal has taken over Wall’s role as the primary ballhandler, but he has not held onto the ball nearly as much as Wall did. Instead, he is distributing the ball to his teammates often, and this team is playing better as a result.
At least for now, it seems to be a case of addition by subtraction. Washington has been more creative on the offensive end in recent games and the players are showing better chemistry.
Player to Watch
There’s no doubt that the key to Philadelphia’s success is Joel Embiid. You can’t question Embiid’s talent. He has shown it every time he has stepped on the court. However, the problem is, he has not stepped on the court much, missing a ton of games with various injuries over his first few seasons.
Sixers fans are cautiously optimistic that those days are over now. Embiid just played in both games of a back-to-back for the first time in his career and looked great. He is a double-double machine that also protects the rim extremely well. Embiid will cause the Wizards problems throughout the evening.
Free NBA Betting ATS Picks
Unfortunately, Philadelphia will still be without Markelle Fultz for this one. Fultz injured his shoulder last week and is expected to be out until the end of this week. That will put some pressure on Ben Simmons to guard Beal, as there is no chance that J.J. Redick could stop him.
Embiid is going to have a great performance in this one. He should have a big game against Marcin Gortat in a 76ers win.
NBA Betting Odds: 76ers 108, Wizards 101
BookMaker.eu offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker.eu!
