Game Time: 2:00 PM ET, Monday, January 17th, 2022 

Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.  

Where to Watch:  NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread: NL; O/U 214

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:  Philly -3; O/U 213

WynnBet: Spread: Philly -2.5; O/U 214.5

76ers: 25-17, 5th place Eastern Conference

Wizards: 22-21, 9th place Eastern Conference

A battle of Eastern Conference teams looking to secure spots above the play-in tournament and get healthy and whole enough to do damage in the Play-offs.  This year the Eastern Conference had a surprise… The Chicago Bulls completed a brilliant overhaul by using every tool in the toolbelt all at once.  They spent the last two seasons, trading, drafting, signing, and working the cap… the result is they are now the #1 team in the East.  The Cleveland Cavaliers jumped up in the standings as well, having had a mini-overhaul.  The Washington Wizards were on that list… they also made some moves and added some pieces in the form of a Russell Westbrook trade to the Los Angeles Lakers… the result is similar to every other recent Lakers trade… the former Lakers (Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell) are playing better than they did in the purple and gold.  Recently the Wizards have receded, perhaps because of the Covid absences, and have dropped out of the top 8 teams.  There is plenty of time left in the season.  The 76ers are the same team they were last year, held hostage by a stubborn and childish potential all-star in Ben Simmons.  Last season Ben held them hostage by refusing to shoot the ball or assimilate into any kind of team culture that would require him to grow or change.  This season Ben simply doesn’t play… he has taken his metaphorical ball and gone home.  He won’t come back to the park until he is assured there is a whole new group of kids to play with.  The Sixers are in 5th when last season they were 1st in the Eastern Conference only to lose to the Atlanta Hawks earlier than expected in the play-offs… and yes that loss was Ben Simmons' fault.

The 76ers are treading water in 5th place… they aren’t in first place, but are still a force in the East.  Any team would be a force with C Joel Embiid leading the way.  Embiid leads with size, skill, and emotion.  The Sixers are on a roll of late having won 9 of their last ten games.  The winning accompanied the NBA’s chaos of players missing time on every roster from Covid… but a win is a win… especially 9 of them.   The rumblings of Ben Simmons trade rumors seemingly never cease… one was even proposed by a lame media outlet that the Sixers should trade Ben for Bradley Beal…. A move that would be great for the Sixers, but would detonate the Wizards if it ever got done.   A name that pops up in the trade rumors attached to Ben Simmons is SF Tobias Harris… Tobias is currently the Sixers 2nd best player, but the feeling is that he is overpaid for his production… That is a crazy feeling people have.  Tobias is 18.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, and 3.8 apg while shooting 46.1 % FG… There are several Max players that don’t get consistency like that or are simply unavailable to even play. Live with the contract, support the player, and see if he will take a pay cut at next contract time.  

The Washington Wizards have won 5 games out of their last ten.  During that stretch the Wizards lost to the Chicago Bulls twice which is forgivable… but they also lost to the Portland Trail Blazers without Damian Lilliard and CJ McCollum and the Houston Rockets.  Plus two of their wins in that stretch were against the Orlando Magic… and were actually losses against the spreads.  The Wizards have a cancer on their team of complete unbalance… the problem has always been the fantastic SG Bradley Beal… Beal has been their best player (one of the best in the league)... and the team has lost year after year after year… for seemingly forever.  Everyone is right.  Beal is their trade chip… the only way to improve the team is to pull the trigger and get multiple picks and players back and try desperately to find a balanced team.  The definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  Beal would look great in Dallas alongside Luka Doncic, he’d look great in Denver playing with Nikola Jokic, he’d look great practically anywhere if they have picks and players to give back.  The one place Bradley Beal doesn’t look great in is Washington D.C.

Al McMordie SMASHED THE BOOKS on Saturday, as he was 12-5, and cashed virtually every BIG PLAY, including his SWAC Game of the Year, Big Sky Game of the Year, and Southland Game of the Month. And Big Al won big in the NFL and NHL too. Now,  the winning continues, and Al's unloading on this NBA Elite Info Winner backed by a 60-33 ATS system. Go get it! Get Big Al’s picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

The Sixers are 25-17 on the season, but 21-20-1 ATS.  They have logged 16 Overs, 24 Unders, and 2 Push.  They are 16-8 in road games.

The Wizards are 22-21 on the season, but 18-24-1 ATS.  They have notched 23 Overs, 19 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 12-8 in home games.

The Sixers are 20th in scoring with 107.4 ppg, 30th in rebounds with 42.1 per, and 9th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8. They are 11th in FG%, 11th in 3PT%, and 3rd in FT%... those good shooting numbers are a direct result of Ben Simmons not being on the court… The Sixers defense ranks 7th while only allowing 105.3 ppg from opponents.

The Wizards are 17th in scoring with 107.8 ppg, 20th in rebounds with 44.3 per game, and 11th in AST/TO with 1.8. They are 5th in FG%, 26th in 3PT%, and 12th in FT%.   Defense is a struggle as they are ranked 20th while allowing 109.8 ppg.

Our prediction for Monday, January 17th is….  76ers 113 - Wizards 100

The Wizards aren’t playing the type of defense needed to hold down the Sixers right now.  It should be a fairly straightforward dismantling  of Washington, especially with Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans both Questionable for the game.

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Philly is 3-2 ATS versus Washington at Washington the last 3 seasons.

Philly is 6-1 ATS in January games so far this season.

The Wizards are 1-4 ATS after 3 or more consecutive Overs this season.

Sixers: PG Ben Simmons (tantrum) Out ** PG Shake Milton (back) Out ** SG Matisse Thybulle (shoulder) Quest ** SG Danny Green (hip) Quest

Wizards: PF Davis Bertans (foot) Quest ** SG Bradley Beal (covid) Quest

Sixers: PF Tobias Harris, SF Furkan Korkmaz, C Joel Embiid, PG Tyrese Maxey, SG Seth Curry

Wizards: PF Kyle Huzma, SF Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, C Daniel Gafford, SG Corey Kispert, PG Spencer Dinwiddie

Sixers

Points: Joel Embiid 27.2

Assists: Tyrese Maxey 4.4

Rebounds: Joel Embiid 10.6

Steals: Matisse Thybulle 1.8

Blocks: Joel Embiid 1.4

Wizards

Points: Bradley Beal 24

Assists: Bradley Beal 6.4

Rebounds: Kyle Kuzma 8.7

Steals: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 1.1

Blocks: Daniel Gafford 1.7

Philly: Doc Rivers

Washington: Wes Unseld Jr