NBA Odds: Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid should feast at Washington

With Thomas Bryant out and Ian Mahinmi and Moritz Wagner ailing, the Washington Wizards could be in trouble against Joel Embiid in Thursday’s NBA action.

Thursday’s NBA slate is a light one, with just four games on tap, and one of those games could feature one of the most lopsided mismatches of the season.

The Philadelphia 76ers take their four-game winning streak to Capital One Arena in D.C. Thursday night to take on the depleted Washington Wizards, who have lost their last three games. The Sixers are favored by 5½ points in this road matchup, courtesy of The Action Network, and are getting the bulk of the action, with 82 percent of bettors leaning toward the 76ers.

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Philadelphia boasts All-NBA center Joel Embiid as well as a former All-NBA performer at that position in Al Horford. Embiid will match up against a Wizards club that played Tuesday night with rookie Rui Hachimura — a 6-foot-8 combo forward — as its starting center.

Thomas Bryant, Washington’s No. 1 center, is out with a stress reaction in his right foot. Backup Moritz Wagner did not play against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday because of a sprained left ankle and veteran big man Ian Mahinmi has yet to play in a game this season as he works through a strained right Achilles’ tendon.

While the Wizards were able to stay somewhat competitive with the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, facing Embiid and Horford is a huge step up in weight class from tangling with Orlando’s current center tandem of journeyman Khem Birch and raw second-year man Mohamed Bamba.

Embiid has fared well against Washington in his career as it is, averaging 23.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.3 blocks in 29.0 minutes per game in seven meetings against the Wizards, shooting 49.6 percent overall and 32.1 percent on 4.0 3-point tries per game.

Philadelphia isn’t trending particularly well, going 4-6 against the spread in its last 10 games, including 1-4 in its last five. But Washington is 1-5 ATS over its last six games after a run of four straight covers. With such an enormous mismatch in the 76ers’ favor and young Matisse Thybulle to help defend against red-hot Bradley Beal, Philly’s chances appear to be pretty good.

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia+, NBC Sports Washington
Tickets: Capital One Arena, 7 p.m. Eastern
Records: Philadelphia 15-6 overall, 10-11 ATS, 5-6 road ATS; Washington 6-13 overall, 10-8-1 ATS, 4-4 home ATS

Availability report (as of 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday)
Philadelphia: OUT–Jonah Bolden (G League), Norvel Pelle (two-way, G League), Josh Richardson (right hamstring tightness), Marial Shayok (two-way, G League), Zhaire Smith (G League); PROBABLE–Shake Milton (right hip discomfort).
Washington: OUT–Thomas Bryant (stress reaction in right foot), Chris Chiozza (two-way, G League), Garrison Mathews (two-way, G League), C.J. Miles (ligament injury in left wrist), John Wall (left Achilles rehab); QUESTIONABLE–Ian Mahinmi (strained right Achilles), Moritz Wagner (sprained left ankle).

As for the rest of the slate in the NBA on Thursday:

Denver Nuggets (minus 7½) at New York Knicks

TV: Altitude Sports 2, MSG Network
Tickets: Madison Square Garden, 7:30 p.m. Eastern
Records: Denver 13-5 overall, 8-9-1 ATS, 3-3-1 road ATS; New York 4-17 overall, 10-11 ATS, 5-6 home ATS

Availability report (as of 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday)
Denver: OUT–Bol Bol (two-way, G League), Vlatko Cancar (G League), PJ Dozier (two-way, G League), Jarred Vanderbilt (G League).
New York: OUT–Kadeem Allen (two-way, G League), Ignas Brazdekis (G League), Reggie Bullock (cervical disc herniation), Ivan Rabb (two-way, G League); QUESTIONABLE–Marcus Morris (cervical spasms), Frank Ntilikina (sore upper back), Elfrid Payton (strained right hamstring).

Notable: While the teams are light years apart in terms of overall record, both the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks are 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games and the Nuggets are laying a big number (7½ points) as a road favorite as they open a four-game Eastern road trip.

The Knicks, meanwhile, return home coming off their worst loss in nearly 10 years, a 132-88 mangling at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. According to Basketball-Reference,  that matched New York’s sixth-worst loss in franchise history and its worst since taking a 128-78 pounding from the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 24, 2010 — the worst home loss in team history.

Houston Rockets at Toronto Raptors (minus 1½)

TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest, TSN4, NBA TV
Tickets: Scotiabank Arena, 7:30 p.m. Eastern
Records: Houston 13-7 overall, 10-10 ATS, 4-6 road ATS; Toronto 15-5 overall, 12-7 ATS, 7-2 home ATS

Availability report (as of 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday)
Houston: OUT–Michael Frazier (two-way, G League), Eric Gordon (right knee arthroscopy), Gerald Green (fractured left cuneiform), Nene Hilario (strained left adductor); QUESTIONABLE–Danuel House (illness).
Toronto: OUT–Stanley Johnson (stress reaction in right groin), Patrick McCaw (left knee surgery), Matt Thomas (fractured left middle finger).

Notable: There are a number of similarities between the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors entering play on Thursday. Both teams are 7-3 ATS over their last 10 games and both teams are coming in off strange overtime losses on Tuesday. The Rockets fell at San Antonio, in part because a James Harden dunk was disallowed, a decision the club plans to appeal.

The Raptors, meanwhile, became the second team this season and the 162nd in NBA history, per Basketball-Reference, to lose an overtime game by 10 points or more. Toronto shot 0-for-9 in the extra session Tuesday in their 121-110 loss to visiting Miami, including 0-for-8 from 3-point range. Talk about going cold at the wrong time.

There are a couple of key differences, however. The Raptors are 6-1 overall in their last 10 games when favored and are 5-1 ATS as a home favorite over that span. The Rockets are 1-2 as an underdog in their last 10 games and are 2-2 ATS away from Houston.

Phoenix Suns at New Orleans Pelicans (minus 1½)

TV: Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports New Orleans
Tickets: Smoothie King Center, 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local)
Records: Phoenix 9-11 overall, 11-9 ATS, 5-3 road ATS; New Orleans 6-15 overall, 9-11 ATS, 6-5 home ATS

Availability report (as of 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday)
Phoenix: No report submitted. On Wednesday at Orlando, the Suns were without Deandre Ayton (league suspension), Aron Baynes (strained left calf), Jared Harper (two-way, G League) and Jalen Lecque (G League).
New Orleans: OUT–Zylan Cheatham (two-way, G League), Josh Gray (two-way, G League), Darius Miller (right Achilles surgery), Zion Williamson (right knee scope); QUESTIONABLE–Derrick Favors (personal), Kenrich Williams (sprained left ankle).

Notable: These are two teams headed in the wrong direction of late, with the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans each just 3-7 SU over their last 10 games, with the Pelicans losing six straight entering play on Thursday. The Suns are also 1-4 ATS in their last five games, including Wednesday’s loss at Orlando. New Orleans is 1-5 ATS during its six-game losing streak.

The Pelicans, however, are 3-2 ATS at home over their last 10 games overall, while Phoenix is 2-3 ATS on the road over that span. New Orleans has also responded well as a favorite over their last 10 games, going 2-1 SU. The Suns are 1-3 SU over their last 10 as an underdog. The wild card is that Phoenix is on a road SEGABABA, never an easy game to win for any team.