NBA Playoff Betting – (5) Wizards at (1) Hawks (Game 2)
Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks (-6, 197.5 o/u)
The Washington Wizards (5-0, 3-0 away), the surprise team of the 2015 NBA playoffs, stayed undefeated on Sunday, downing No. 1 seed Atlanta (4-3, 3-1 home) 104-98 and keeping the Hawks to just 35 points in the second half. Having stolen homecourt advantage, the Wizards will look to take a massive 2-0 series lead tonight at Philips Arena (8:00 PM Eastern).
After sweeping the Raptors in round one, few people were giving the Wizards much of a chance against the Eastern Conference’s top-seed. But thanks in large part to strong guard play from Bradley Beal (28 points and seven rebounds) and John Wall (18 points and 13 assists) – coupled with excellent second half defense – the Wizards sent the Atlanta crowd home stunned.
“Last year we were just happy to be in the playoffs, just happy we moved on. We didn’t have many goals after the first round,” said Beal. “This year, we expect more from ourselves. We’re really focused on what we need to continue to do to move forward.”
For the Hawks, forward Paul Millsap had a relatively strong game with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, but he lamented the execution of his team, as a whole.
“Mistakes everywhere,” Millsap said. “Against a team like this in the second round of the playoffs, you’ve got to be at it for 48 minutes.”
Unlike Washington, Atlanta did not get stellar games from its starting backcourt. Guards Kyle Korver and Jeff Teague combined to shoot just 9/29 from the field, which was a big part of the Hawks’ hitting just 37.8-percent from the field.
In the trends, Washington is 7-18 SU in its last 25 against the Hawks and 2-13 SU in its last 15 games on the road in Atlanta. The Wizards are flying high in the playoffs, this much is true. But don’t expect them to go 16-0. Atlanta will come out guns ablazing in Game 2, knowing a win is all but necessary.
Pick: Hawks -6.
(Photo credit: Keith Allison [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
