Atlanta Hawks vs Washington Wizards NBA Betting Preview & Odds

Going to do some NBA today and take a look at the game between the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards, which will take place at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Local TV will carry this game, which has a start time of 7:00 pm EST.

Current betting odds for this game have the have the Hawks listed as 1 point favorites, while the total has been set at 209.

Head-To-Head This Year: The Hawks won the first meeting this year by a score of 114-99 as 5 point home favorites… Washington won the 2nd meeting 117-102 as 6.5 point road dogs just a few days ago.

The Atlanta Hawks come in off a bad 117-10 home loss to the Wizards, which broke a 5 game winning streak they were. The loss dropped them into a first place tie with the Heat in the Southeast Division. This is going to be an interesting last couple of weeks of the season, especially since both the Head and Hawks lead the Hornets by just one game. The Hawks have seven players that average at least 7.3 ppg and are led by Paul Millsap, who averages 17.2 ppg, while leading the team in rebounding at 8.6 rpg. Al Alford is 2nd on the team in both scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg). Jeff Teague (15.1 ppg), Kent Bazemore (11.7 ppg) and Dennis Schroeder (11.1 ppg) also average double digits for the team. The Hawks are a very average offensive team as they come in ranked 15th in the league in scoring, putting up 102.6 ppg, while also ranking 10th in shooting overall, 15th in 3-point shooting and 10th from the charity stripe. The defense has excellent this year as they come in ranked 6th in points allowed, giving up just 99.1 ppg, while also ranking 2nd in defensive FG% overall and 6th in 3-point defense. On the road Atlanta has averaged 101.7 ppg on 44.7% shooting, while allowing 100.4 ppg on 43.4% shooting.

Trends: The Hawks are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games following a double-digit loss at home and 8-2 ATS in their last 10 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game, but just 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points and 1-5 ATS their last 6 vs the Southeast. The Over is 4-1 in their last 5 games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points, while the Under is 11-5 in their last 16 vs the Southeast.

The Washington Wizards continue to fight for a playoff spot and they came up with a huge win in game 1 of this home-and-home series with the Hawks. The Wizards have now won their last five games in a row and have clawed their way back to the .500 mark at 35-35, but they have been a very average team at home where they are just 19-17. They are currently 1.5 games out of the 8th playoff spot in the East. The Wizards have 8 players that average at least 8.2 ppg and are led by John Wall, who comes in averaging 20.2 ppg, and he is 3rd in the league in assists at 10.0 apg. Bradley Beal is 2nd on the team in scoring at 17.7 ppg, while Marcin Gortat has had a nice year as he is 3rd on the team in scoring at 13.4 ppg, while leading them in rebounding at 9.8 rpg. Rounding out the double digit scorers is Otto Porter (11.6 ppg) and Markieff Morris (10.10 ppg). Washington checks in at 11th in the league in scoring, putting up 103.2 ppg, while also ranking 11th in shooting overall and 9th in 3-point shooting, but they are also just 25th from the free throw line. Defense hasn’t been a strong suit of the Wizards as they come in at 19th in points allowed, giving up 103.2 ppg, while also ranking 22nd in defensive FG% overall and 28th in 3-point defense. At home the Wizards have averaged 104.8 ppg on 46.3% shooting, while allowing 102.5 ppg on 46.7% shooting.

Trends:  The Wizards are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. the Eastern Conference, but just 6-16 ATS in their last 22 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game and 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record. The Over is 9-3 in their last 12 vs. a team with a winning straight up record, while the Under is 19-7 in their last 26 home games.

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