The Hawks are back in this first-round series. After dropping both games in D.C., they capitalized on their home-court advantage to take Games 3 and 4 in Atlanta. Paul Millsap and Dennis Schroder carried the Hawks to victory in Game 3 with 56 of the team’s 116 points. But it was a total team effort in Game 4, as seven Hawks scored in double-digits.
After three straight games where he was a total nonfactor, Dwight Howard finally exploded with 16 points and 15 boards in Game 4. Jose Calderon also provided some surprising production with 10 points and 5 assists off the bench.
Millsap has gotten the better of his personal feud with Markieff Morris throughout the series, and is averaging a very impressive 23.5 points and 8.8 rebounds through four games. Schroder (23.3 PPG) is also holding his own in his matchup with John Wall. And if their supporting cast can continue to play as well as they did in Atlanta, they will have a decent shot at claiming control of the series.
However, the Hawks just haven’t been able to find a ton of success in D.C. Since 2013, the Hawks are just 4-10 (6-7-1 ATS) in the nation’s capital, and have lost their last five games in a row.
The Wizards obviously did not enjoy their trip down to Atlanta. They played some very uneven basketball, and squandered the two-game lead they built up in Games 1 and 2. No one apart from the Wizards’ backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal showed up over the two games. Wall had 29 in Game 3, while Beal went off for 32 in Game 4.
Markieff Morris has been a no-show for three games running now, as he’s scored just 21 total points over those three games. And despite 18 rebounds in Game 4, Marcin Gortat had only 2 points for the second consecutive game.
But even with their recent struggles, the Wizards should still be favored to reclaim control of the series. With two of the next three games at home, Washington is a -210 favorite to advance.
The Wiz still have the best player in this series with Wall. He was exceptional in the first two games as he had back-to-back 32-point performances. The return home should also help his supporting cast play a bit better than they did on the road.
Dating back to the tail-end of the regular season, the Wizards are 15-5 in their last 20 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Wizards (-5.5) continue the trend of the home team winning every game in this series as they take Game 5.
