NBA on ESPN: Wizards Host the 76ers to Open Season

Wizards Look to Build on 2016 Success

The fans at Verizon Center will see the Philadelphia 76ers and the Washington Wizards open the 2017-18 season when they take their seats on Wednesday. The game is set to tip a few minutes after 7 pm EST. It is being telecast on the Wednesday Night NBA package on ESPN.

The Washington Wizards was one of the NBA's surprise teams a year ago with 49 wins. They enter the 2017-18 season among the Eastern Conference favorites.

If Joel Embiid can stay on the court the Philadelphia 76ers might be the team making the biggest rise.

Oddsmakers opened the Wizards as -7.5-point favorites versus the 76ers, while the game's total opened at 215. The line now has Washington as 6.5-point favorites. The total has risen to 217.5.

Wizards are Stacked with Talent

The Wizards spent the off-season thinking about coming up one game short of reaching the Eastern Conference finals. Washington lost a hard fought seven-game series to the Boston Celtics. The Wizards largely kept their core intact as they like what they see.

Wall finished second in the NBA in assists. He was tied with backcourt partner Bradley Beal averaging a team-high 23.1 points per game. Small forward Otto Porter was at the top of the leaderboard in 3-point shooting. Markieff Morris was a two-way threat at the power forward.

The Wizards must focus on the long haul. They need to get by possibly the first month of the season without Morris. He underwent sports hernia surgery before training camp. Jason Smith, free agent signee Mike Scott and third-year forward Kelly Oubre Jr. will help fill in for now.

76ers Need to Stay Healthy This Season

Embiid is one of the league's top young talents. He is an engaging player and only played in 31 games last season. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft didn't play in either of his first two seasons because of injuries to his legs and ankles.

Philadelphia signed Embiid to a massive extension earlier this month. The Sixers remain cautious with their prized asset. He is only going to see about 16 minutes a game to start the season.

Philadelphia won both home games against Washington last season. Last seasons top pick, Ben Simmons, missed all of last season with an injury. He enters his first season a true favorite to win Rookie of the Year honors. He is a crafty big-man with point guard skills.

Guard Markelle Fultz, who was the top pick in the 2017 draft, might challenge Simmons for ROY honors. They have to get him healthy as a shoulder injury is limiting the University of Washington product early on.

 

Recent Form

Name	Record	ATS	Offense	Defense	Diff	ATS Home	ATS Away	OU Record	OU Home	OU Away
Philadelphia	28-54	49-32-1	102.44	108.13	-5.69	25-15-1	24-17	42-38-2	19-21-1	23-17-1
Washington	56-39	47-47-1	109.03	107.47	1.56	27-20	20-27-1	58-35-2	26-20-1	32-15-1

Power Stats

Assists Turnovers
Name	Assists	Turnovers	Ratio
PHI	23.77	16.02	1.48
WAS	23.71	13.37	1.77

Rebounding
Name	Offense	Defense	Total
PHI	9.84	33.00	42.84
WAS	10.38	32.46	42.84

ShootingPercentage
Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
PHI	44.19	46.07	-1.88
WAS	47.25	46.52	0.73

Team Records

Philadelphia 76ers

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	28-54	17-24	11-30	49-32-1	25-15-1	24-17	102.44	108.13	-5.69
Last 10	1-9	0-5	1-4	3-7	0-5	3-2	101.60	110.90	-9.30
vs Div	7-9	5-3	2-6	12-3-1	5-2-1	7-1	105.94	109.13	-3.19
vs EAST	19-33	11-15	8-18	29-22-1	14-11-1	15-11	102.90	108.69	-5.79
vs WEST	9-21	6-9	3-12	20-10	11-4	9-6	101.63	107.17	-5.54

Washington Wizards

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	56-39	36-11	20-28	47-47-1	27-20	20-27-1	109.03	107.47	1.56
Last 10	5-5	4-0	1-5	3-7	2-2	1-5	108.40	108.10	0.30
vs Div	12-10	8-3	4-7	11-11	5-6	6-5	104.86	104.45	0.41
vs EAST	39-26	25-7	14-19	33-32	18-14	15-18	108.66	106.68	1.98
vs WEST	17-13	11-4	6-9	14-15-1	9-6	5-9-1	109.83	109.20	0.63

Supergrid

Title	Stat	Rank	Stat	Rank
Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense	102.44	24	107.47	21
Away Team Away Scoring vs Home Team Home Defense	102.49	17	104.55	17
Away Team Road Rebounds vs Home Team Home Rebounds Allowed	42.34	19	41.64	8
Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense	109.03	5	108.13	24
Home Team Home Scoring vs Away Team Road Defense	110.26	5	110.32	23
Home Team Home Rebounds vs Away Team Road Rebounds Allowed	42.91	23	45.71	26

Head To Head Summary

Team	record	ATS	O/U	AVG	AVG ½	FG%	REB	3PT	steals
Philadelphia	3-7	5-5	5-5	98.40	55.60	46.90	49.00	62/200	6.80
Washington	7-3	5-5	5-5	105.30	50.50	42.56	41.20	94/298	9.00

Head To Head Detail

Date	Away	away score	Home	home score	line	ATS	Total	O/U	FG% Edge	Reb Edge	3PT Edge	Away Half Score	Home Half Score	Away FG%	Home FG%	Away Rebounds	Home Rebounds	Away Three Pointers	Home Three Pointers	Away Steals	Home Steals
Feb 24, 2017	WAS	112	PHI	120	8.5	PHI	217.5	O	PHI	PHI	PHI	49	61	42.2	49.4	43	48	5/24	10/29	8	9
Jan 14, 2017	PHI	93	WAS	109	-10	WAS	210.5	U	WAS	WAS	PHI	56	56	41.4	48.4	49	50	10/31	8/17	6	9
Nov 16, 2016	WAS	102	PHI	109	7	PHI	203.5	O	PHI	PHI	PHI	48	59	41.8	54.5	40	41	8/23	10/28	8	6
Mar 17, 2016	WAS	99	PHI	94	9	PHI	214.5	U	WAS	WAS	Push	58	39	44.4	38.5	60	40	6/27	6/33	8	16
Feb 29, 2016	PHI	108	WAS	116	-12.5	PHI	214.5	O	Push	WAS	PHI	48	60	48.3	48.3	32	53	10/32	6/20	8	6
Feb 26, 2016	WAS	103	PHI	94	7.5	WAS	216.5	U	PHI	WAS	PHI	48	52	42.6	42.7	55	41	7/23	8/25	7	10
Feb 5, 2016	PHI	94	WAS	106	-8.5	WAS	213.5	U	WAS	WAS	PHI	47	60	42.5	52.4	38	46	9/26	6/22	7	7
Apr 8, 2015	WAS	119	PHI	90	5	WAS	186.5	O	WAS	WAS	PHI	70	54	65.3	34.8	45	36	8/15	9/27	4	11
Apr 1, 2015	PHI	93	WAS	106	-10	WAS	190.5	O	WAS	WAS	PHI	42	65	39.6	57.9	34	47	10/34	4/12	10	7
Feb 27, 2015	WAS	81	PHI	89	7.5	PHI	193.5	U	PHI	PHI	PHI	42	47	32.3	35	51	53	4/17	12/33	4	7

NBA Betting Trends

Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Philadelphia is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 7 games
Philadelphia is 13-4 ATS in its last 17 games on the road
Philadelphia is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games on the road
Philadelphia is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Washington
Philadelphia is 3-11 SU in its last 14 games when playing Washington
Philadelphia is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
Philadelphia is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Philadelphia's last 10 games when playing on the road against Washington

Washington Wizards
Washington is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 8 games
Washington is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games at home
Washington is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
Washington is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games when playing Philadelphia
Washington is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Washington's last 10 games when playing at home against Philadelphia

Team Last 5 Games

Philadelphia 76ers

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	Total	ATS Result	field goal percentage	free throw percentage	three pointers	Location
Apr 12, 2017	NY	113-114	L	3	209	W/O	50.55	70.00	7	A
Apr 10, 2017	IND	111-120	L	8.5	211.5	L/O	46.67	90.32	13	H
Apr 8, 2017	MIL	82-90	L	7	209.5	L/U	35.06	86.96	8	H
Apr 6, 2017	CHI	90-102	L	5.5	209	L/U	36.26	77.27	7	H
Apr 4, 2017	BKN	118-141	L	2	222.5	L/O	44.33	74.07	12	H

Washington Wizards

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	Total	ATS Result	field goal percentage	free throw percentage	three pointers	Location
May 15, 2017	BOS	105-115	L	5	211	L/O	45.00	79.31	10	A
May 12, 2017	BOS	92-91	W	-5	214.5	L/U	43.02	61.90	5	H
May 10, 2017	BOS	101-123	L	4	217.5	L/O	38.46	82.76	7	A
May 7, 2017	BOS	121-102	W	-5	214.5	W/O	52.38	88.89	9	H
May 4, 2017	BOS	116-89	W	-5.5	218.5	W/U	46.74	88.00	8	H

Next up:
Philadelphia home to Boston Friday, October 20
Washington home to Detroit Friday, October 20

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