Wizards @ 76ers Predictions: Simmons to go over 17.5 pts

For the first three games of this series, it looked like the Philadelphia 76ers were going to coast to a series sweep of the Washington Wizards. But then Joel Embiid fell awkwardly and missed the rest of Game 4.

Embiid’s injury was recently diagnosed as a torn meniscus. While they’re opting not to perform surgery, it will keep Embiid sidelined for Game 5 as they treat it with physical therapy.

If you remember, this was my exact reservation with Philly back when I wrote about Milwaukee’s chances of winning the east. I was blasted by some as not knowing basketball and that the Sixers were the most talented team in the Eastern Conference after the All Star break, even without Embiid.

But what I tried to explain to people was that it wasn’t that I thought the Sixers weren’t talented. In my opinion, they’re the second-most talented roster on paper in the east behind the Brooklyn Nets. But if you were buying in on Philly to win the series, that also meant you were buying in on Embiid being healthy for two consecutive months. Something he’s almost never done in his career.

You saw what the offense turned into in Game 4 when Embiid had to exit, the Wizards started hacking Ben Simmons to force him to go to the free throw line, where he is 25 percent in this series.

Since I have only seen a little bit of what the Sixers looked like without Embiid on the floor in Game 4, I’m hesitant to take anything on the spread. I think the Sixers still find a way to win this game, but not sure if they cover the seven-point spread.

Instead, I like the under 229.5. The Wizards have been an over machine this season, but with one side missing a guy who averaged 28.5 points per game and a guy who likely would’ve been the league’s Most Valuable Player, I’ll take the under.

For a prop bet in this one, let’s take Simmons over 17.5 points. The Sixers will be looking for a scoring boost from the rest of their team with Embiid out, and Simmons will be first or second in line for those points. He’ll definitely get the free-throw attempts to possibly get to that mark.

You can get it at over 17.5 at +100 at Bet MGM, while the number is over 16.5 at -149 at PointsBet, -134 at 888Sport, BetRivers and Unibet.