76ers vs. Wizards NBA Playoffs Game 4 Picks and Odds Breakdown

The Philadelphia 76ers can sweep the Washington Wizards on TNT this Monday evening. The Wizards have been no match for the top-seeded 76ers, who have continued to win each game by a larger margin. In Game 3 in Washington on Saturday, the 76ers prevailed 132-103.

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Wizards

Monday, May 31, 2021 – 07:00 PM EDT at Capital One Arena

The 76ers are an 8-point favorite at many top sportsbooks. Russell Westbrook has never been swept in his first 20 playoff series, but the Wizards have a tall task ahead of them. In the first round of the NBA playoffs, a higher seed with a 3-0 lead is historically 28-14 (.667) in Game 4. So, the sweep is more likely than not, but what about the spread?

Game 3: Philadelphia’s Best Yet

Including the playoffs, the 76ers are 6-0 against Washington this season, but the 29-point win in Game 3 was the largest margin of victory yet. It was also the team’s third-best shooting performances of the season as the 76ers hit 58.6% of their field goals, including 17-of-33 from three. The 76ers only had five games this season where they shot better than 50% from beyond the arc, but three of those games are against Washington.

Before the series started, you could have questioned if Philadelphia would be in for a long series against the league’s fastest-paced offense as the Wizards average 116.6 points per game (third in NBA). In the regular season, the 76ers were 3-10 when allowing at least 118 points. Washington hit 118 in Game 1, but that was the closest game in the series, a 125-118 final. Things have only gotten worse since as the Wizards failed to crack 105 points in either of the last two games.

Also, the Wizards are the only team this season the 76ers beat in regulation after allowing 118 points. The 76ers scored a season-high 141 points against Washington in January, so this defense has been no issue for Philadelphia. Joel Embiid is having a dominant series, averaging 29.3 points per game in 28.0 minutes while shooting 67.4% from the field. Embiid scored 36 points in Game 3 on 14-of-18 shooting. The Wizards have no answers for him.

Wizards: Guards Are Not Enough

The Wizards have largely been a two-man team this season with guards Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal leading the way. Beal is still averaging 30.3 points per game in the series, but he is 3-of-20 (15%) from three. Beal has only been a 35% three-point shooter over the last three seasons, the time in which he has turned into a prolific scorer, but even for his standards this is horrible deep shooting.

Westbrook is the NBA’s all-time triple-double leader. He finished with 27 triple-doubles in his last 34 games to end this regular season. However, he only recorded his first triple-double in this series in Game 3 while the game was already well out of reach. The Wizards are minus-40 on the scoreboard with Westbrook on the court in this series. He only scored 26 points in Games 1 and 2 combined before scoring 26 in Game 3’s losing effort. Westbrook is shooting 40% from the field in the playoffs.

Beal and Westbrook have to be incredible for Washington to steal a game in this series. So far, they have not come close to doing so. Third-leading scorer Daniel Gafford is only averaging 13 points per game and has just 18 field goal attempts in the three games. While the stars on Washington cannot compare to Embiid’s efficiency in this series, they also do not have the supporting cast he does. Tobias Harris is averaging 25.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Ben Simmons is nearly averaging a triple-double with 14.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game.

Washington cannot stop Philadelphia offensively and lacks the three-point attack to make comebacks against a tough defense. In Game 2, the Wizards had their worst three-point shooting game of the season, hitting 2-of-22 (9.1%). While that made it seem like they would be ripe for positive regression in Game 3, they had their fifth-worst game of the season, hitting 8-of-35 (22.9%).

Prediction

The 76ers have scored at least 120 points in five straight games, tied for the third-longest streak in the NBA this season. The offense is hot right now and has been all season against these Wizards. Game 4 is just a matter of pride to see if Westbrook will be swept for the first time in his Hall of Fame career. For my NBA picks this Memorial Day, I think the 76ers, who cover 60.9% of the time as a road favorite, get the job done and send the Wizards home with ease.

NBA Pick: 76ers -8 (-110) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)

76ers-8 (-110)

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*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.

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