NBA Preview: After a 5-6 start at the Verizon Center, the Wizards have won 25 of their last 30 home games.
Atlanta Hawks (43-39) at Washington Wizards (49-33), Sunday, 1 p.m. EST
Line: Wizards -5. Total 209.
There was a lot of speculation during the offseason about why the Wizards hired Scott Brooks to coach the team. There were whispers circulating that Brooks was hired to lure free agent Kevin Durant to come play for him in Durant’s home town.
Oklahoma City fired Brooks after the Thunder missed the playoffs two seasons ago. Brooks was an assistant coach with the Seattle SuperSonics during Durant’s rookie season in Seattle during the 2007-08 season. Brooks took over as head coach the following season and coached Durant for eight more seasons.
However, despite all the speculation, Durant did not go back to play in his home town for his former coach. Durant signed with Golden State and the Wizards were left with a new coach and some shattered hopes to start their 2016-17 campaign.
The Wizards did not start the season well under Brooks. Maybe there was a let down from not getting Durant. Maybe they needed time to learn his system.
Washington started the season 2-8 and were just 7-13 after 20 games. However, the Wizards started to click at home in early December. Washington finished 9-3 the last 12 games of December. Their first win during that stretch was a win over Denver on December 8. That home win was the first of 17 straight home wins for the Wizards, the second longest streak in franchise history. The Wizards were also 18-5 from January 1 right up to the All-Star break.
The Hawks had a very streaky season under fourth-year coach Mike Budenholzer. Atlanta started 9-3, then went 1-10, then 20-9, then 7-15 and then 6-2, before giving away their final game of the regular season to Indiana when they sat all five starters.
The point here is that I am not sure if Atlanta has shown enough consistency to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Dwight Howard and other Atlanta players have a different perspective. There were many quotes mentioning that the Hawks are getting hot at the right time and anything can happen. How long can they maintain their current upswing?
Paul Millsap is healthy and Atlanta is back to full strength for the playoffs. The Hawks will need production from him. Millsap scored 28 points, added 6 assists and 7 rebounds during Atlanta’s lone win over the Wizards this season. Millsap averaged 10 points, 1.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds in the two losses he participated in and he did not play against Washington in their fourth meeting.
The Wizards were 3-5 in their final 8 regular season games. However, the streak I would pay more attention to is the three straight wins the Wizards have over the Hawks this season.
John Wall and Bradley Beal are clearly one of the top five backcourts in the NBA. They have done some damage against Atlanta this season. Wall has averaged 18.5 points per game (PPG), 8.8 assists per game (APG) and 5.3 rebounds per game (RPG). Beal has averaged 21 PPG, 3.3 APG and 3 RPG.
Atlanta is #8 in the league with a 20-21 record on the road. The Wizards are #4 in the league with a 30-11 record at home. The Wizards have won 25 of their last 30 home games.
Advantage: Washington for Game 1.
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