The Washington Wizards will travel to Philips Arena to take on the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday, May 5 and can be seen on TNT.
The Hawks are expecting a better outcome after their 104-98 loss to the Wizards on Sunday. DeMarre Carroll was the team’s leading scorer with 24 points. John Wall claimed his 40th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 assists.
From an effective field goal percentage perspective, this will be a matchup of two heavyweights. Atlanta’s sharp-shooting offense is ranked third in the league in that metric at 52.7%, while Washington is fifth-best in the NBA at making opponents miss (48.1%).
The odds for Atlanta and Washington are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently not available. The Hawks come into this game 60-22 Straight Up (SU) and 49-32-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 12-4 SU and 9-6-1 ATS against divisional opponents. The Hawks are one of the best in the NBA in terms of three-point field goals, making 10.0 shots per game from beyond the arc. Atlanta is one of the most disciplined teams in the league with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.91. Atlanta’s defenders rank fifth in the NBA in steals with 9.1 per game. Atlanta is one of the league’s top scoring teams off turnovers with an average of 18.2 points per game.
As for their opponent, the Wizards have 46-36 SU and 33-47-2 ATS records. Despite having a winning record against its own division, Washington is unsuccessful ATS in those games with a record of 4-11-1.
The Wizards’ win over Atlanta in their last clash brought the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over the last 10 meetings. With a 5-4-1 record, the Wizards have the advantage ATS. Over the last 10 matchups, Atlanta held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers two times. Washington performed this feat once.
Predictions: SU Winner – ATL, ATS Winner – ATL
Notes
Ranked zeroth, Atlanta puts up 0.0 points per game. On the other hand, Washington gives up 0.0 and also ranks zeroth (in points allowed).
Atlanta and Washington are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per home game and points allowed per away game respectively. Atlanta scores an average of 0.0 points per home game, while Washington gives up 0.0 points per away game on average.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Atlanta Hawks are a dazzling 44-5. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Washington Wizards have a poor record of 17-28.
Atlanta is 16-17 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Wizards have an outstanding 29-8 record when they hit the century mark.
The Wizards have a defensive rating of 100.4, fifth-best in the NBA. The Hawks also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 106.3 (ranked sixth).
Atlanta averages fewer possessions per game than Washington, with 96.5 compared to 97.4. However, the Hawks score an average of 1.063 points per possession, more than the 1.011 that the Wizards score.
The Atlanta Hawks have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking third in the league with an EFF% of 52.7%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Washington Wizards have an underachieving 4-15 record.
Atlanta ranks near the top of the league in assists at second (25.7 assists per game). Washington is ranked sixth, with 24.0 assists per game.
The Atlanta Hawks average 4.6 blocks per game for a rank of 15th. The Washington Wizards rank lower (16th), earning 4.6 blocks each game.
Atlanta ranks 30th in offensive rebounds, while Washington ranks fifth in defensive rebounds.
The Hawks record 9.1 steals per game on average (ranked fifth). The Wizards are 18-16 when allowing at least 9 steals.
