Wizards vs. 76ers Tonight: Tip Time, Injury Watch, Matchups, Odds Lean, and a Score Prediction

The Washington Wizards visit the Philadelphia 76ers tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET, closing a back-to-back after a momentum jolt on Monday. Philadelphia is back home looking to steady above .500 while managing a banged-up rotation and heavy minutes from a double-OT loss over the weekend.

Key injury/availability storylines

• Joel Embiid: Listed with right-knee management in recent updates. His status has toggled in the hours leading up to tip; treat it as a true game-time watch.

• Paul George: Working through knee/back soreness; most recent guidance has trended toward questionable.

• Tyrese Maxey: Available; logged huge minutes in the last game and remains the offensive engine.

• Wizards core: Coming off a road win last night, with CJ McCollum leading late scoring recently. Long-term injuries to young headliners (including Alex Sarr and Tre Johnson) continue to thin Washington’s upside, but role players have punched above their weight the past few outings.

Because statuses have shifted throughout the day, expect Philadelphia to keep rotations fluid and to manage stars’ minutes if available.

How Wizards vs. 76ers stacks up

• Pace & pressure: Washington plays freer when it can run off live-ball turnovers. Philadelphia, even short-handed, is most comfortable in organized half-court where Maxey manipulates two-man actions and drive-and-kick sequences.

• Paint math: If Embiid plays, Philly tilts the interior battle and the free-throw column. If he sits, the 76ers must win the rim by committee—short rolls, cuts, and offensive boards—rather than brute post usage.

• Wing creation: With George uncertain, complementary Sixers wings must finish plays (spot-ups, 45-cuts). Washington’s best shot is to shrink the floor on Maxey and dare those shooters to win it.

• Second-chance points: The Wizards’ recent surge came with offensive rebounding and opportunistic put-backs. Keeping their ORB% under ~30 is a quiet but decisive Sixers key.

Three swing matchups

1) Tyrese Maxey vs. point-of-attack defenders
If Washington can keep Maxey off his right hand and deny early drag screens, it blunts Philly’s tempo. If not, his rim pressure collapses the shell and unlocks corner threes.

2) Wizards’ crashers vs. Sixers’ box-outs
Washington’s energy bigs and long wings have piled extra possessions. Philadelphia needs body-first box-outs and a designated leak-out to punish over-crashes in transition.

3) Late-game shotmakers
McCollum’s closing craft has stabilized Washington. If George is limited or out, Philly’s closing burden shifts to Maxey plus a hot-hand role player. Watch who wins the “first clean look” out of timeouts inside 2:00.

Numbers to keep in mind

• Turnovers: If the Sixers stay at 12 or fewer, they starve Washington’s runouts.

• Free throws: A +6 to +10 FT attempt edge for Philly usually signals a controlled game.

• Threes vs. twos: Washington can hang if it lives at the rim and cleans the glass; Philly’s counter is high-quality catch-and-shoot volume created by paint touches.

Odds lean (informational only)

Markets opened with Philadelphia as a double-digit favorite and a total in the mid-230s, pricing in the Sixers’ home edge and Washington’s defensive volatility. Any late scratch for a Philly star tends to trim the spread several points; conversely, full availability pushes it back up.

Coaching chessboard

• Wizards: Keep the paint packed against drives, then close short to shooters—live with contested jumpers, not rim attempts. Offensively, spam early actions to avoid set defenses and put pressure on foul counts.

• Sixers: Drag screens for Maxey in early clock, empty-corner actions to simplify reads, and quick post seals if Embiid plays. On defense, sit on McCollum’s step-backs and send timely help on his drives without over-rotating.

Prediction: 76ers 118, Wizards 109

Washington’s effort and glass work make this competitive through three quarters, but Philadelphia’s half-court organization and free-throw edge should separate late—especially if even one of the headliners suits up. The path to a Wizards upset is clear (win offensive boards, win turnover margin, and ride a hot McCollum fourth), but the safer side at home is a Sixers pull-away inside the final five minutes.

Tip: 7:00 p.m. ET. Rotations and statuses often firm up 30–60 minutes before the ball goes up; expect quick adjustments either way once the starters are announced.