It figures to be a low-scoring affair as the Atlanta Hawks (60-19) travel to Washington to play the Wizards (45-34). The game gets underway at 6:00 pm ET on Sunday, Apr. 12 and will air on SPSO, CSN-DC and NBA TV.
The Wizards lost big to the Nets 117-80 on Friday. Marcin Gortat recorded 21 points and 16 rebounds, earning his 21st double-double of the year. The Hawks, meanwhile, are coming off a 104-80 win over the Hornets on Friday. Al Horford stood out, accumulating 15 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
Gortat has really been playing well as of late for the Wizards, averaging 17.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 blocks over the last five games.
Points could be at a premium in this matchup between two of the league’s elite defenses. The Wizards rank fifth in the NBA in defensive efficiency (100.5), while the Hawks are fifth (100.5). Also, the elite offense of the Hawks ranks third in effective field goal percentage at 52.9%, while the Wizards are fifth-best in the league at forcing opponents’ misses (48.1%).
The Hawks have won all three matchups against the Wizards this season, including a 105-96 victory in their last matchup. John Wall was a top player in the game with 24 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, one steal, and three three-pointers.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable at the moment. The Wizards enter the game with records of 45-34 Straight Up (SU) and 31-47-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 3-7 ATS over their last 10 games.
On the other side, the Hawks head into the game with records of 49-30 ATS and 60-19 SU. Atlanta has done particularly well ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 7-3. The Hawks are an excellent long-range shooting team with 790 three-point shots made (10.0 per game), ranking fourth in the NBA. The Hawks rarely make the wrong play with the ball. They have the third-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league at 1.91. The Hawks are one of the top defensive teams in the league, essentially shutting down opponents to the tune of 96.9 points allowed per game. When it comes to stealing the ball away, the Hawks are one of the best in the league with an average of 9.0 steals per game. A large part of Atlanta’s game is creating turnovers and turning them into points. They are scoring 18.3 points per game off turnovers, which ranks fifth in the league.
Atlanta beat Washington in their most recent meeting this season, bringing its SU record in the past 10 games to 6-4. However, the Wizards lead the matchup ATS with a record of 5-4-1. Atlanta had the advantage in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) three times over the last 10. Washington has had the edge in all categories once.
Predictions: SU Winner – ATL, ATS Winner – ATL
Notes
Washington is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington’s last 6 games.
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
Washington is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games at home.
Washington is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Washington’s last 9 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington’s last 7 games when playing Atlanta.
Washington is 5-20 SU in its last 25 games when playing Atlanta.
Washington is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta.
Washington is 5-10-1 ATS in its last 16 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
Washington ranks 20th in points per game with 98.3, while Atlanta ranks third in points allowed with an average of 96.9 given up.
Washington ranks 13th in points per home game with 102.2 points, while Atlanta ranks 11th in points allowed on the road with 99.2.
The Atlanta Hawks won their last game by 24 points. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, the Washington Wizards are 7-10. Atlanta is 11-5 in blowouts this season.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Hawks are 44-4 on the season. When the Wizards score fewer than 100, they are an underachieving 17-27.
When the Atlanta Hawks allow at least 100 points they are 16-15, while the Washington Wizards are 28-7 when they reach the century mark.
The Wizards have a defensive rating of 100.5, fifth-best in the NBA. The Hawks also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 106.6 (ranked sixth).
The Atlanta Hawks have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking third in the league with a FG% of 46.8%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Washington Wizards have a losing 6-15 record.
The Washington Wizards rank higher in field goal percentage (fifth) than effective field goal percentage (10th), while the Atlanta Hawks rank the same for both metrics (third).
The Atlanta Hawks, ranked second in the NBA, average 25.9 assists per game. The Washington Wizards make 24.0 assists (ranked sixth).
Washington makes an average of 4.6 blocks per game (ranked 15th), while Atlanta makes 4.6 blocks per game (ranked 16th).
The Washington Wizards rank 20th in offensive rebounding, while the Atlanta Hawks rank 19th in defensive rebounding.
The Atlanta Hawks earn an average of 9.0 steals per game and are ranked fifth. The Washington Wizards have a 17-16 record when they allow at least 9 steals.
