In tonight’s Eastern Conference match-up, Atalanta Hawks, the second worst team in the conference hosts Washington Wizards at State Farm Arena.
Atalanta Hawks are not fairing well this season and with an overall record of 5-19, there certainly is room for improvement. Going into this match, Hawks have suffered 3 consecutive losses against Charlotte Hornets (108:94), Oklahoma City Thunder (124:109) and in their most recent match against Golden State Warriors (111:128). Looking at their most recent match, the Hawks started off the 1st quarter terrible, as they were outscored by 17 points! Their shooting was not terrible, however, their defence from the 3pt line was miles away from at least decent. Hawks let GSW shot 44.4% from the behind the arc, which was one of the main reasons they headed into the 2nd quarter 17 points behind the visitors. The 2nd quarter was closer scoring wise, in fact, it was the Hawks who managed to score 3 more points that Golden State (30:27). However, again they failed to defend the 3pt line (42.9% 3pt accuracy for GSW). The last 2 quarters were relatively close (30:36) and (34:31), but as you might have guessed, Hawks failed to defend the 3pt attempts, even more so in the 2nd half, letting in 75% of GSW shots from behind the arc. The match ended with a final score of 111:128. The match was arguably lost in the 1st quarter for the Hawks, as they just couldn’t get back into the game since.
The visiting side, Washington Wizards, have had a lot of issues on and off the court this season, however, their new lineup has seen some success in the last 5 matches, where they have won 3, 2 of which in their most recent matches. The 2 wins came from games against Brooklyn Nets (102:88) and New York Knicks (107:110). Looking at their most recent match against NY Knicks, we saw Knicks leading by 6 points by the end of the 1st quarter (32:26), to which they added another 3 points before the 3rd quarter (61:52). Wizards needed to step up and get back into the match at this point, and that’s exactly what they did. In the 3rd quarter, Wizards outperformed Knicks, who shot with only 27.3% accuracy from the field and only 16.7% from behind the arc. Wizards, on the other hand, shot with 60% accuracy and scored 44.4% of their attempts from the 3pt line. The 3rd quarter ended in 19:34, which saw Wizards getting the lead for the first time since the start of the match (80:86). The final quarter saw Wizards being up by 16 points, however, they almost lost the lead in the final minutes. The match ended with only 3 points separating the teams (107:110), with Wizards almost losing a certain match due to their poor defence.
Scoring wise. these two teams are doing a decent job. Wizards on average score 111.7 ppg, whereas Atlanta sits at an average of 107.6 ppg this season. These two teams are decent in the offence but terrible in defence. At the moment, they are ranked as the worst (Atlanta) and second worst (Washington) teams in the league when it comes to protecting the basket. Atlanta on average sees 118.5 points being scored against them, whereas Washington sees 116.7. Another interesting information is their 3pt defending and scoring. Both teams can score 3 pointers, but on the other hand, both are terrible at defending the 3pt line. In that regard, I expect a fast-paced game with plenty of scoring and lack of defensive work from both sides. This match should easily end in more than 230 points total.
Prediction: Over 232.50 points
Odds: 2.04 Pinnacle
