NBA: Wednesday Nets get tired Hawks; can 76ers fill it up again?

Sixers (-2.5) @ Wizards (227.5) 7:05 pm
Pick: Under 227.5

These two teams squared off last night at the Wells Fargo Center and poured in a combined 247 points. So why are we taking the under? Because 20 fewer points than last night’s total isn’t asking a whole lot. We’ve mentioned before our hesitancy to back Philly on the road, but 2.5 isn’t enough points to take the Washington side here. So we’ll again look to the total and go under banking on some tired legs in the second game in as many nights for both teams. Considering how high-scoring last night’s game was, we would also expect both coaches to want to tighten things up defensively. It’s a contrarian play, as both of these teams tend to play to the over, but aren’t those the best kinds of plays?

Hawks (+9) @ Nets (227.5) 7:35 pm
Pick: Nets -9

Atlanta played a very competitive game in The Six last night against the Raptors. The Hawks were inside the 13.5-point spread from tipoff to the final buzzer and nearly won outright. Toronto escaped with a 104-101 victory as each team had five players score in double figures. For all intents and purposes, the Hawks, one of the worst teams in the NBA, were the Raptors’ equal on Tuesday. Though this outcome isn’t worth overreacting to. It could also be boiled down to Toronto, one of the best teams in the NBA, overlooking Atlanta and ending up in a dog fight, but finding a way to win like good teams do. After that effort though, Atlanta has to get right back up and play the Nets tonight. Atlanta is 0-4 ATS when it is playing the second leg of a back-to-back. Two of those non-covers were against Cleveland, the team with the worst record in the NBA, and another one of those games was an outright loss at home against the Knicks. New York isn’t very good either in case you were wondering. This is a home run spot to fade the Hawks in, so we’re laying the nine points with Brooklyn.