The No. 5 Washington Wizards (5-0 SU, 5-0 ATS) aim to stay unbeaten in the playoffs when they visit the No. 1 Atlanta Hawks (4-3 SU, 2-5 ATS) Tuesday in Game Two of their Eastern Conference semifinal. You can watch the game live on TNT.
We can call them the Road Wizards now. After knocking off the favored Hawks 104-98 Sunday in Game One of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Washington improved to 8-1 on the road in the playoffs over the last two seasons and stayed unbeaten in the postseason with their fifth straight win. The Wizards have now beaten the Hawks in consecutive games with all five matchups this season cashing the under.
Fatigue, great defense or poor play. Whatever the reason the Hawks find themselves in a hole after losing homecourt advantage with Sunday’s loss. Atlanta wilted in the second half just two days after its finest playoff performance, dominating Brooklyn in a series-clinching win. The Hawks must now win Tuesday or head to Washington down two games to the hottest team in the postseason.
KEY INJURY
Washington guards Bradley Beal and John Wall were injured in Sunday’s game but both finished the contest. Beal hobbled off the court with a sprained right ankle early in the fourth quarter. He was escorted to the locker room for a new tape job and returned to finish off a superb afternoon. Wall injured his left wrist on a fall under the basket but was able to stay in the game.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“Our pace was better in the first half. Maybe in the second half we were just tired or whatever. I had a couple of tips that just came out. I couldn’t believe it. I think that was the key point of the game.” – Hawks forward Al Horford.
BETTING TRENDS
- Washington is 7-0 ATS in its last seven games overall.
- Atlanta is 2-7 ATS in its last nine games overall.
- The OVER is 7-1 in Washington’s last eight games overall.
KEY STATS
37: The Hawks had a first quarter outburst Sunday scoring 37 points but got progressively worse as the game wore on and managed only 35 points in the second half.
28: Washington guard Bradley Beal tied his playoff career-high with 28 points and grabbed seven rebounds in Sunday’s win.
1: Atlanta suffered its first loss this season when leading going to the fourth quarter. The Hawks were 29-0 during the regular season and 3-0 in the playoffs.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Wizards benefitted from their week-long layoff after routing the Raptors in the first round. Washington was clearly the fresher team in the second half outscoring the Hawks 51-35 and became the first team in NBA history to win four straight Game Ones on the road. The backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal led the onslaught and also put a scare in Wizards fans with injuries that took each of them out the game briefly. Beal matched a playoff career-high with 28 points and Wall added 18 points and 13 assists.
Still searching for the consistency that lifted them to the top seed in the Eastern Conference the Hawks have been an enigma in the postseason. Struggling to put away the eighth-seeded Nets in the first round it appeared the Hawks found their groove with a scintillating performance in Game Six that led many to believe the Hawks were back. Then came Sunday’s clunker with a second half that had fans moaning with every missed shot. The Hawks are good, that’s why they won 60 games and earned the top seed in the East, and they will respond. But their inconsistent play has to be worrisome for coach Mike Budenholzer.
Riding a wave of momentum that has them undefeated in the playoffs and seemingly unbeatable on the road, the Wizards can take command of their semifinal series with a win Tuesday. I just don’t know how they’re doing it. Sure they have a talented backcourt with Wall and Beal and Nene and Marcin Gortat are quality frontcourt players, but come on. They can’t continue winning on the road in playoffs, especially against a team as good as the Hawks, can they? We don’t think so and Atlanta pulls even.
Atlanta 108, Washington 96
The NBA lines for this contest will first be released by BookMaker sportsbook. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks square off on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, at 8 p.m. ET at Philips Arena. The contest will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
