Home continues to be where the wins are in the series between the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks. The away team has yet to steal a victory and the Hawks hope the trend remains in Game 6 of their first round Eastern Conference matchup.
If the Wizards can find a way to buck the trend, they will advance to the conference semifinals. However, the Hawks won the first two games in Atlanta and should be the favorite in the third contest. This has been an entertaining series and Game 5 was a close one. This matchup could come down to the wire once again, as Atlanta would love nothing more than to force a Game 7 in D.C.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, April 28, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Friday schedule.
NBA Odds
The Wizards were a 6.5-point favorite in Game 5 and while they came away with the win, the Hawks covered the spread in the 103-99 outcome. The scoring total was set at 211.5 and it didn’t come close to approaching that as the “under” was the correct choice.
Washington improved to 52-35 straight up and is now 44-42-1 against the spread on the season. The Wizards have gone 19-23-1 against the spread on the road this season. They are 17-18 against the spread as the underdog and figure to get a few points in this one.
The Hawks are 45-42 straight up and improved to 42-45 against the spread. Atlanta has covered in only 19 of 45 attempts at home this season but would be happy to not beat the spread if it still results in a victory. The Hawks are only 23-32 against the spread as the favorite on the season.
Last Time Out
The Wizards’ backcourt was excellent in Game 5, as Bradley Beal finished with 27 points while John Wall added 20 points, 14 assists and six rebounds. Washington’s defense led the way, as it allowed Atlanta to shoot just 41 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point range.
Dennis Schroder did what he could do keep his team in the game, finishing with 29 points and 11 assists. The Hawks had the ball down by four with under 10 seconds remaining but missed a three-pointer to make it really interesting.
All but one of the games in this series have been decided by single digits, as these teams are pretty close in talent level.
Player to Watch
Even though Wall is the best player on the court, Schroder has more than held his own in a bit of a breakout performance in this series. He is averaging 24.4 points and 7.2 assists per contest. He was Atlanta’s first-round pick in 2013 and has steadily improved during his career.
Schroder is averaging 11.4 points and 4.4 assists per game for his career, but was much better than that in the regular season. Schroder put up 17.9 points and 6.3 assists to help get the Hawks the No. 5 seed and now hopes to put together a big performance to force a deciding game against the Wizards.
Free NBA ATS Pick
The Wizards have the type of high-end talent to pull off this upset, as long as Wall and Beal play well and they get some help. However, the Hawks have looked like a different team at home and their crowd will be feverish to help them advance to a Game 7.
While this one should come down to the final minute, the home team is going to again come away victorious. Take the Hawks to win this one but the Wizards are going to cover the spread. The “over” is the right call as this one should be entertaining.
NBA Odds: Hawks 108, Wizards 106
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