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Trust the Process. That’s all we heard from Sam Hinkie when he was in charge of the Philadelphia 76ers and now it’s time for his hard work to pay off. The 76ers have oodles of young talent and are looking to show that they are ready to post their first winning record since 2004-05. Philadelphia took some big strides forward last season and looks to continue that into this year. Its first opponent this season, the Washington Wizards, will be looking to take another step forward too. The Wizards have made it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in three of the last four seasons, but have been unable to advance any further. Last year, they took Boston to seven games before falling, and are looking to win two playoff series this time around.
Don’t miss the hardwood action from the Verizon Center at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 18, 2017. Catch every moment of the game live on ESPN. We’ll have NBA opening odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Wednesday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Washington Wizards went 3-1 in the preseason and are ready to show that they are better than the third-best team in the East. Washington has one of the best backcourts in the East with Bradley Beal and John Wall, and has some decent role players that are able to help the team up front like Marcin Gortat, Otto Porter Jr., and Markieff Morris.
There’s no doubt that the Philadelphia 76ers have the talent to finally succeed in the East. The East is extremely weak in comparison to the West, and the 76ers have some real solid guys. JJ Redick was signed to bring some veteran experience to the unit and they are ready to ball.
Player to Watch
Joel Embiid is one of the most entertaining players in the NBA. He’s a must-follow on Twitter and his sly sense of humor has led to him gaining a cult following.
However, Embiid has not seen much game action yet. Embiid was taken with the third overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, and has only seen 31 games worth of action in three years of time with the Sixers. For most of that time, he was sidelined because of injuries to his foot.
He missed the entirety of his first two seasons while dealing with foot issues. Last year, the foot was fine, but he missed most of the season because of a bone bruise and torn meniscus in his knee. Additionally, he has lingering back problems after a stress fracture in his back cut short his only collegiate season.
The Sixers rolled the dice this offseason by signing him to a five-year max contract last week. To be fair, Embiid did show off his freakish athletic ability in limited action last season and was a monster in preseason. He has quickness and agility that seven-footers don’t typically have and is a force on both sides of the ball. If the signing works out, he can be a franchise player for years, but if he keeps getting bit by the injury bug, it could wreck everything Hinkie built.
Matchup to Watch
It will be very hard for the Sixers to match up with Wall and Beal on the defensive end. Wall and Beal are a deadly one-two punch and accounted for most of their team’s offensive production last year. Both players averaged 23.1 PPG and were great at two-pointers.
However, while Beal shined from three, Wall really struggled. Beal is known as a three-point shooter, so it was good to see him stay healthy and be as productive as he was. However, Wall hitting just 32.7 percent from beyond the arc is something that needs to be watched.
Free NBA ATS Picks
Philadelphia should be an underdog on opening night and this is a good spot to take them. The Sixers are one of the biggest mysteries in the league, but the talent is there and you can ride them for a few weeks if they are indeed ready to turn the corner.
NBA Odds: 76ers 104 – Wizards 98
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