by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Mar 10, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Where to watch: NBCSWA, BSSE-ATL
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Hawks -1
FanDuel: Hawks -1.5
BetMGM: Hawks -1
Caesars: Hawks -1
Season record
Hawks: 33-33
Wizards: 31-35
The All-Star break is over in the NBA and it's time to get on the horse and finish up the final home stretch of the season. Big trades, uncertainty, and absolute hilarity across the board all gearing up for the final home stretch of this season. You know who is also gearing up for the home stretch? Our champion handicappers at bigal.com who are ready to win their way all the way to the playoffs. There's a lot going on that we can't wait for in these final 23-25 games and you're going to need every bit of hardcore analysis you can get from this group. Just in the last 30 days we've had some big winners. Doc's Sports has posted a 16-6-0 record in the last month (+$9,200). AAA Sports has killed it at 17-8-0, and then Al McMordie with a dominant 20-11-1 mark over the last 30 days. Everything you need to know and more about what's going on this league and sports in general will be a fun finish to the end. All you have to do is go to bigal.com and find our Best Bets page and put forth something that only you think is good. Here's a hint: Go to the bigal.com website and happy betting!
Hawks - Wizards preview, prediction and analysis
The Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards will wrap up their baseball series on Friday after the two teams met on Wednesday in what was, in short, a very weird game.
How weird? We’re talking about Kristaps Porzingis going off for 43 points, Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma combining for 49 points, and the Wizards shot 56 percent from the floor … and they still lost. Because the Hawks got a near-perfect shooting outing from Trae Young, going 11 of 14 from the floor for 28 points and 10 assists.
All but two of the Hawks’ nine players that suited up scored in double figures with Dejounte Murray behind Young with 17 points and six assists, and DeAndre’ Hunter had 15 points and the go-ahead 3-point play late.
“Happy with the effort and proud of, really as much as anything tonight, in my mind for our team, was about just competing," Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. "I thought we really competed.”
The Hawks were favored by 3 points and failed to cover for the fourth time in six games. The over, however, has been a fun play with five in the last seven hitting. Atlanta, however, has not done well with just one day of rest, going 1-5 ATS in the last six while they are also 1-5 against the spread in their last six road games.
That might play well into Washington’s hands with them in need of a win after losing three of four and in dire need of some consistency in order to make a charge at the playoffs. While the big three did its thing, Corey Kispert was the only other player to score in double figures with 10 points. Balance was the theme of the day here.
"It means double, almost," said Porzingis of playing Atlanta in back-to-back games. "We want to get the job done ... but we didn't. So we have to live with this and bounce back next game, at least even the series 1-1."
The 43 points were a career-high for Porzingis, but the Wizards are going to need more of these types of games. Washington can take a season-series lead with a win, which of course makes big progress for their chance at a playoff spot. Three losses in four games will not do the job.
Prediction
The over has counted in five of the Wizards’ last six games, but with the way they’ve been losing, that’s obviously not good. If this turns into another shootout, you have to hope the defense will be enough to carry the way. I just don’t see it. Hawks 124, Wizards 120
Projected starting lineup
Hawks:
PG: Trae Young
SG: Dejounte Murray
SF: De'Andre Hunter
PF: John Collins
C: Clint Capela
Wizards:
PG: Monte Morris
SG: Bradley Beal
SF: Kyle Kuzma
PF: Kristaps Porzingis
C: Daniel Gafford
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this preview, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NBA projections and previews.
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.
