Wizards vs Nets Picks and Predictions: BK Helps Wiz Vanish Into All-Star Break

The Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets will try to put the last month or so behind them when they meet at the Barclay Center Thursday night. 

Brooklyn's once-title-favorites season has gone up in the flames on injuries, vaccinations, and James Harden's trade. Meanwhile, Washington started the season as one of the East's best teams and has nose-dove all the way down to 11th.

Find out which of these sad squads can get its shit together with our NBA betting picks for Wizards vs. Nets picks for Thursday, February 17. 

Wizards vs Nets odds

This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.

Brooklyn opened as a 3.5-point favorite and has been bet up to -4.5 pretty much everywhere. The total hit the books between 218 and 219.5, sitting at 217 or 217.5 as of Thursday morning.

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.

Wizards vs Nets predictions

• Prediction: Brooklyn -4.5 (-110)
• Prediction: Under 217.5 (-110)
• Best bet: Curry Over 16.5 points (-115)

Predictions made on 2/17/2022 at 9:15 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Wizards vs Nets game info

• Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
• Date: Thursday, February 17, 2022
• Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: YES, NBCSWA

Wizards vs Nets betting preview

Key injuries

Wizards: Bradley Beal SG (Out), Kristaps Porzingis C (Out), Rui Hachimura PF (Questionable), Daniel Gafford C (Out).
Nets: Kevin Durant PF (Out), Kyrie Irving PG (Out), Ben Simmons PG (Out), Joe Harris SF (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.

Betting trend to know

Nets are 3-0-1 ATS in last 4 games overall. Find more NBA betting trends for Wizards vs. Nets.

Wizards vs Nets picks and predictions

Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.

Spread analysis

Is it possible to fade both teams? 

In all seriousness, it's tough to put a ton of faith in either side here, with both severely disabled and in utter tailspins on the season. Washington effectively pulled the chute on its campaign with Bradley Beal's season-ending injury, while Brooklyn is missing its four best players. 

But if there's belief to be had in this line, we're sticking with the post-Harden Nets, who were down 21 at the half and gutted out a comeback last night (albeit against the equally-hapless Knicks). 

While ravaged by top-end absences, Brooklyn is still deep with veterans, and newly-acquired Seth Curry and Andre Drummond have both excelled in magnified roles since the Harden trade. Cam Thomas has flashed an undeniable scoring touch (17.9 ppg on almost 49% from the field in February), and increased doses of Bruce Brown and James Johnson will toughen up Brooklyn's defense.

Washington concedes several edges, especially in the post. With Daniel Gafford injured and Thomas Bryant still on a minutes restriction (and likely an even shorter leash on the second night of a back-to-back), the Wiz are painfully shallow in the pivot, and can be bullied by Drummond, who is still arguably one of the best rebounders in the NBA, especially on the offensive end.

The Wizards' roster is generally thinner than the plotline of an Adam Sandler Netflix special right now, and way too reliant on inconsistent weapons like Raul Neto and Corey Kispert. They're younger and less cohesive than this Nets unit, and more likely to want to pack it in for a road game right before the All-Star break in what's surely a lost season. 

The Nets are the NBA's very worst ATS team on the season, but that stat lies entirely in an inflated public perception heading into this season before various afflictions took down all three of their superstars. 

This is a different group that has plenty to play for and a renewed sense of purpose with Harden gone and playoff equity to preserve. If you must, count on them to get the job done at home against the listless Wizards.

Prediction: Brooklyn -4.5 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

Ther, unfortunately, isn't a huge body of work to mine trends for these teams. Such is life when you're dealing with two sides that both just pulled off massive trades and have multiple injured stars. Most of the season's data can go out the window.

Over the past five games, the Nets and Wizards are both scoring identical 106.8 ppg clips and allowing 109.0 ppg (Brooklyn) and 112.6 ppg (Washington). Both teams also rank in the Bottom-10 in pace over that same sample, suggesting neither will try and turn this game into a track meet. 

A slower game pace also lends itself intuitively to gamescript: neither of these teams has the arsenal to expect they're going to outgun the other, nor the transition playmaking to want to push tempo. To boot, both squads also played close games last night, so expecting this game be anything but glacial seems dubious. 

Combine that with a general lack of firepower, and we can see both teams hovering around the 100-point barrier tonight. Back the Under here.

Prediction: Under 217.5 (-110)

Best bet

Our colleague Jason Logan nailed Seth Curry's points Over yesterday, and we see no reason to deviate tonight, with books again posting his points total at 16.5.

Steph's bro has dropped 20 and 23 in his first two games as a Net, and while those outputs came against the leaky defenses of New York and Sacramento, it's not like the Wizards have been stoppers, as a Bottom-10 defense both over the past 10 games and the season as a whole. 

Curry's spacing is vital to the Nets, especially as it helps unlock Andre Drummond in pick-n-roll action. With Patty Mills colder than the other side of the pillow this month (31.9% from the field, including a ghastly 23.5% his past three games), count on Curry to keep seeing looks tonight and punishing a sub-par defense.

Pick: Seth Curry Over 16.5 points (-115)

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