by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Mar 04, 2022
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Where to watch:
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Hawks -3
BetMGM: Hawks -2.5
Caesars: NL
Season record
Hawks: 30-32
Wizards: 28-33
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Hawks - Wizards preview and analysis
The Atlanta Hawks have not been on the kind of run they’d like to be as of late, but they’ll try to get back on track in the final quarter of the season starting Friday against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.
The Hawks lost for the second time in three games coming out of the All-Star break with a 107-98 loss to the red-hot Boston Celtics the other night. Trae Young finished with 31 points on 12 of 25 shooting, and outside of Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 25 points on 10 of 16 shooting, no one else provided any inspired offense for Atlanta. The Hawks shot 43.4 percent from the floor but went just 7 of 31 from 3-point range; Young was only 2 of 7.
"I think we kind of bailed them out and let them off the hook taking some shots and obviously not attacking like we did in the first half," Young said.
That’s about as good of a way to sum up what happened with that group. Atlanta is not the same team that found its way to the Eastern Conference Finals a season ago. They aren’t as deep and talented as the world has portrayed them to be.
The biggest problem for Atlanta is the lack of a secondary playmaker. We’ve seen it with the Dallas Mavericks and how big of a help it is to have Spencer Dinwiddie running an offense when it’s not just Luka Doncic. When it’s just Luka, he’s having trouble finding a groove and can sometimes be finding ways to play 1-on-5. Dinwiddie can alleviate that pressure a bit and it seems to help.
Atlanta definitely needs that at some point when it comes to Young. For as talented as he is on the dribble and everything in-between, he needs some help to facilitate the offense. Getting Young in some off-ball situations could be fun, but Atlanta doesn’t have that kind of help to facilitate such a situation.
And now they’re taking on a Wizards team that’s about as low in the basement as the Hawks perceive themselves to be on most occasions, but that’s based on their own self-inflicted wounds.
Kristaps Porzingis is still not available for Washington due to a knee injury he suffered when he was with the Mavs. The 7-foot-3 big man was traded for Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans at the trade deadline.
The Wizards held off from what was a valiant effort from the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, winning 116-113 against the young Pistons. Kyle Kuzma led the way with 21 points and Thomas Bryant added 16 for a much-needed win for Washington, still with a chance to make the playoffs. That’ll help if Porzingis ever gets back to the lineup.
The biggest play of the game was a block from Kuzma on Cade Cunningham, which was followed by an alley-oop from Bryant with 3:37 to go.
"That was a big one for us and a big dunk for me, so I was really happy about it," Bryant said. "Just seeing that defensive play that Kuz made right then and there, to get that block for us, to get us out there in transition, really helped us."
The morale might soon be up for the Wizards after star guard Bradley Beal said he may consider re-signing with the team when he enters free agency. The All-Star is eligible for a five-year deal near $250 million and that’ll be something he’ll heavily consider. One thing at a time though.
Prediction
The Wizards still not being at full health kind of hurts things in some respect, but this seems like the kind of game where the Hawks can get back on track. But who is going to step up for the Hawks when Young gets caught in the double teams and traps? Not sure, but they’ll find someone. Hawks by 8
Betting trends
The Hawks are 31-48 ATS as a road underdog.
The Hawks are 19-17 ATS against division opponents.
The Wizards are 3-11 ATS off a home win this season.
Projected starting lineup
Hawks:
PG: Trae Young
SG: Kevin Huerter
SF: De'Andre Hunter
PF: Danilo Gallinari
C: Clint Capela
Wizards:
PG: Raul Neto
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
SF: Corey Kispert
PF: Kyle Kuzma
C: Daniel Gafford
Key injuries
Hawks: John Collins (out)
Wizards: Kristaps Porzingis (out), Bradley Beal (out)
Statistical leaders
Hawks:
Points: Trae Young -- 27.9
Rebounds: Clint Capela -- 12.1
Assists: Trae Young -- 9.3
Wizards:
Points: Bradley Beal -- 23.2
Rebounds: Kyle Kuzma -- 8.8
Assists: Bradley Beal -- 6.6
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
