Free NBA Picks: Our Best Bets for January 17 (Archive)
The Washington Wizards will host the Philadelphia 76ers this afternoon on Martin Luther King Day. Washington started off the season really strong but then their defense fell off a cliff which led to them falling in the standings.
They’ve managed to find a little bit of rhythm recently but will face a tough test against the improved Sixers. Let’s break down the NBA odds for this matchup.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Wizards
Monday, January 17, 2022 – 02:00 PM EST at Capital One Arena
Sixers Finding Their Groove
This has been a strange season in Philadelphia, to say the least. The drama started before the season with the Ben Simmons incident that still lingers over the team. Although it doesn't cast quite the shadow it once did, it still is very much a distraction.
Then there's the on-court product which until about three weeks ago was not very good. Players are being openly shopped as part of a package to get something in return for Simmons.
Things have turned around in the past few weeks where the Sixers have gone 9-1. Before this stretch, they were 16-16 which was good for 9th in the Eastern Conference. To say that is not where this team wants to be is a massive understatement.
They're still only 6th in the East so they still have a lot of ground to make up. Tonight they come into this game at Washington as -3.5 point favorites. That line is very sharp as the Sixers are the better team but Washington has been better recently.
Wizards Have Improved but Aren't Good Enough
The Wizards can absolutely beat the Sixers here but I don't see it. Once the Sixers make a commitment to defense, the ceiling for them is raised significantly. During this stretch, where they've won 9 out of 10, they've been 2nd in terms of defensive efficiency.
When you look at their roster, Joel Embiid is the only reliable scorer. Tobias Harris is a capable scorer but he's been terrible from three and he isn't elite offensively to make up for that, especially for the amount of money the Sixers are paying him.
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As for the Wizards, they've been better lately winning three of their last four. My issue with them was exposed in their loss to Portland on Saturday. They don't take or make a lot of threes which in today's NBA is a difficult position to be in.
They also can't defend without fouling which to me is one of the biggest reasons they haven't been able to maintain the pace they started the season with. They're 27th in defensive free throw rate and 29th at forcing turnovers. None of these things are bad on their own but add them up and you have exactly what is holding this team back.
Betting Pick
When they lost to the Blazers, they were short Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. They lost the turnover battle 20-12 while also allowing Portland to outshoot them from the line 35-23 on their home court without their two best players.
I expect Embiid and Harris to have their way with this team on offense and get a ton of free throw attempts, especially Embiid who is regularly among the league leaders. My official NBA pick is Sixers minus the points tonight.
NBA Pick: Sixers -3.5 (-109) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.