The Washington Wizards have been dominant at home this year, and since they have the home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, continuing that trend will result in success. Washington is the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and will aim to open up the postseason with a win against the No. 5 seed Atlanta Hawks.
While many 4-5 matchups tend to be close, the Wizards had six more regular season wins than Atlanta and has the more talented roster. Add in the home court advantage in this one and it’s easy to see why the Wizards are the favorites and expected to come away with this win.
This series could go for a while since Washington struggles on the road, but for this home game it is the easy choice.
This war on the floor will go down Sunday, April 16, 2017, at 10 a.m. ET at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. The game will be televised live on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Sunday schedule.
NBA Odds
Atlanta is a five-point underdog in this contest and is listed at +176 on the moneyline. The Wizards are at -210 as the favorite and the money is split pretty evenly between the teams. The scoring total is listed at 211, with the “under” taking in the money more heavily early on.
The Hawks are 43-39 straight up and 39-43 against the spread. Atlanta has played in 41 road games on the year and covered in 22 of them. The Hawks have been impressive as the underdog this year, going 18-11 against the spread when it gets some points.
The Wizards went 49-33 straight up and 42-39-1 against the spread. Washington has done well at home this season, covering in 23 of its 41 matchups. The Wizards are 25-22-1 against the spread as the favorite this season.
Player to Watch
John Wall -- The best player on the court will be the Wizards’ point guard. He has taken it to another level this season, averaging 23.1 points, 10.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds on the season. Wall shot 45.1 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from three-point range.
Wall didn’t play in the final two games of the regular season because of a calf injury, but it was minor and the team was basically resting him because the No. 4 seed in the East was already wrapped up. Bradley Beal and Markieff Morris also sat at the end of the year but Washington should be good to go in this one.
Wall 16 points, eight assists, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks in his most recent game against Miami and should be able to continue to affect the game in a variety of ways in this series.
Season Series
The teams played four times in the regular season. Atlanta came away with the victory in the first game of the season but Washington took control from there, winning the final three.
Paul Millsap had 28 points in the first game as the Hawks picked up a 114-99 victory. Washington evened the season series a week later when it came away with a 95-92 win behind Beal’s 28 points.
The Wizards won a laugher in late January as Otto Porter went for 21, and then wrapped up the series victory with a 104-100 victory in March. The Wizards would like to follow that blueprint, as a 3-1 lead in this series would be basically insurmountable considering they are the better team.
Free NBA ATS Pick
The Hawks are a solid team and will likely win at least a game or two in this series at home. However, the Wizards play well in Washington and should have a hyped up crowd behind them.
Atlanta may not have an answer for Wall, who figures to dominate both in the first game and throughout the series. The spread is a bit low in this one as the Wizards should win rather comfortably to grab an early lead as they look to move on to the second round.
NBA Odds: Wizards 105, Hawks 97
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