NBA Basketball
2012-03-24 - Atlanta Hawks at Washington Wizards
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Saturday 24 March 2012 - Tip Off 7pm ET
11pm (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Atlanta Hawks (28-20) will want to continue taking advantage of what is an 'easy' portion of their schedule as they face the Washington Wizards (11-35) in the Capital on Saturday evening. Atlanta are not going to catch Miami in their Division race, but are still jockeying for position inside the Eastern Conference Play Offs and can close the gap on the 3rd seeded Orlando Magic.
Atlanta beat New Jersey last night, but did make things a little more complicated than they needed to be, that following on the heels of an Overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers which is another struggling team. They come to Washington with the hope that tonight will not be as close as the last couple of games as they want to get as high in the Eastern Conference Play Off picture as possible.
Josh Smith continues to perform remarkably well on the court for the Hawks considering he had wanted a trade away from the team to another that would be a more likely contender for the NBA title. Smith has averaged a career hight 18.1 points per game and 9.8 rebounds so far.
Washington will be hoping to bounce back from a tough loss to Indiana in their last home game, blowing a 22 point lead to lose by 2 points and miss winning consecutive games for the first time this month. John Wall admitted that the team were 'stagnant' in the second half against the Pacers, so it will be interesting to see how they change that mindset.
The Wizards recently made a trade to potentially improve their game in the short-term by bringing in Nene. The big man has enjoyed his two previous experiences of the Hawks, averaging 21 points and 6.5 rebounds in those contest. With Atlanta missing Al Horford, Nene will look to bounce back from his 6 points and 5 rebound effort against Indiana.
Jordan Crawford has been playing well in his recent efforts for the Wizards and will be hoping to show the Hawks what they have missed after struggling against them in the two meetings so far this season.
Head to Head
Atlanta have won 14 of the last 15 meetings in the series between the teams, although the one exception was on their last visit to Washington last season.
The Hawks are 6-2 against the spread in the last 8 games in the series, although they are just 2-2 against the spread in their last 4 trips to the Capital.
Washington are 8-15 against the spread at home this season, Atlanta are 14-10-2 on the road.
Washington are 15-22 against the spread as the underdog, Atlanta are 15-12-1 as the favourite.
Other Interesting Trends
Washington are 5-11 against the spread in their last 16 games as the home underdog given between 0.5 and 4.5 points.
They are 5-2 against the spread in their last 7 games against a team with a winning record.
Atlanta are 6-1 against the spread in their last 7 games as the road favourite of between 0.5 and 4.5 points.
They are 4-1-1 against the spread in their last 6 games against a team with a losing record at home.
Prediction
I am going back to the well and picking Atlanta to win this game and cover the spread for the following reasons:
First, Atlanta have a very good recent record against the Washington Wizards and they will be fully focused on getting another Conference win under their belt and move up the Play Off seedings.
Second, Atlanta have been superb when playing the second of back to back nights play, going 9-2 against the spread in their last 11 games in this spot.
Third, the Hawks are 8-2 against the spread this season against Divisional opponents, including 2-0 against Washington.
Fourth, Atlanta seem to perform well after playing three consecutive games at home, going 5-1 against the spread in their next game.
The Pick :
Washington Wizards 88-94 Atlanta Hawks
