NBA - Wizards v Philadelphia

24 November 2009

Preview By Tipster Jumbo (New Zealand)

Last season the Wizards said goodbye to Eddie Jordan, the Coach who had taken them to four straight postseason appearances from 2005-08, Tonight he returns as Coach of the 76ers.

The Season the Wizards had last season I think showed that Jordan wasn’t the Problem as they finished their season with a disgusting 19-63!! They did have a fair few Injuries, the most notable of course was Arenas but during the season they were rocked by hurt players on a weekly basis, Arenas is back this season as is Jamieson and others but still they keep losing, The Wizards have lost 8 of their last 9, They beat the Cavs 108-91at Home 3 games ago and then went on to lose their next two matches, They were outgunned by the Thunder 127-108 and then fell 106-84 to San Antonio the very next night while shooting a disgusting 33% from the Field, They have lost 8 of their last 9 Matches. The Wizards will also be without Miller who came out against the Spurs for about a month, Bad news for the Wizards and they will miss his 9.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 56.5% from 3-point range.

Jordans 76ers have been inconsistent under his guidance, losing six of eight , It’s no help at all with Speights the former Pacer going down against the Bulls in a 88-94 Sixers loss 3 games ago now and the Sixers sure have missed his 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. , But the Sixers have a bit of depth in certain areas and although losing games still have a good enough side to win matches, they just aren’t doing it at the Moment, They haven’t scored over 100 points in 6 straight games, but have scored 90 or more in 3 of their last 5 matches, They lost to the Cavs in their last match 97-91 and were beaten the night before in Memphis 102-97, the Sixers results are looking bad but I reckon they are in a great spot to win this game and grab an unexpected win, with Players like Brand, Young and Iguodala with a few others they can compete, they do it every single game, tonight they will get a more open game and I think against this Wizards side they could hit 100 points with ease.

The 76ers are 6-4 in their last 10 against the Wizards and are also 5-4 ATS in those last 10 matches, Total wise and 7 of the last 10 have resulted in over the Total, In Washington and the 76ers have won their last 2 there but are 2-3 in their last 5 games played at the Verizon Center, but they are 3-2 ATS in those 5 matches, Total wise and all 5 of the most recent 5 matches between these two sides in Washington have resulted in Over the Set total, In fact the 76ers have been over 100 points in 4 of those last 5 matches in Washington while the Wizards have also been over 100 points in total in 4 of those 5 matches. One thing I should also mention is that the Wizards are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home matches. While the 76ers are 3-3 ATS in their last 6 Road matches.

The 76ers are not the worst team going and neither are the Wizards, Either side has room for Improvement, Both sides are hitting from the Field at the mid 40% mark and both sides in their last 5 matches are averaging 7 3 Pointers per game, Free throws are a real problem for either side with both sides hitting from the Stripe at a bad 75% on their seasons, also both sides are allowing on average 100 points against on their seasons.

The Wizards have been over 100 Points in 3 of their last 4 matches but have also allowed 90 or more in their last 5 matches, with 3 of those matches allowing over 100 points, while the 76ers have allowed 90 points or more in 4 of their last 5.

All that shit aside though and I fancy this total, the 76ers have clearly indicated that they want to score more points and against this Wizards side they will get a chance to do just that, the Wizards have a habit of turning their games into shootouts against sides who are willing to play that way, the first quarter will tell us what they are planning to do, not so much by the score, but more by how they play, If the Wizards try to out shoot the 76ers they might get a surprise from a Sixers side really wanting to get that feeling of scoring points in big numbers again, they have a great record in recent times against the Wizards and with Jordan returning to Washington tonight I think the chains will be cut on his side and they’ll score a few points…I’m looking for that to happen as well as for the Sixers to win….Good Luck.