NBA Free Pick – Saturday February 5, 2011
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Atlanta Hawks @ Washington Wizards
Saturday, February 5, 2011 at 7:00 pm EST on NBA TV
This Saturday night the Atlanta Hawks will be looking for a win on the road to try and keep pace in the very competitive Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference. They take on the Washington Wizards, who are simply happy to be playing this game at home after losing 25 straight games on the road.
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Tip-off from the Verizon Center is set for 7 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on NBA TV.
Atlanta has won six of its last 10 games and remains within striking distance of the Miami Heat at four games back in the division. It is coming off a 100-87 romp over Toronto this past Wednesday as a 10-point home favorite after losing to Dallas 102-91 as a five-point road underdog last Saturday. The Hawks are currently 31-18 straight-up and 23-26 against the spread. They are in fourth-place in the Eastern Conference.
Joe Johnson leads a group of five players that are scoring in double-figures with an average of 20.6 points a game and also leads in assists with 5.5 a game. Josh Smith is averaging 16.2 points and 8.9 rebounds, while Al Horford is averaging 16.1 points and 9.9 rebounds. Jamal Crawford continues to be one of the best players in the league off the bench with 15.7 points a game.
Atlanta is averaging 97.3 points a game and giving up an average of 95.3 points. The Hawks are pretty much even in rebounds as well with an average of 40.3 a game while allowing an average of 40.8. They are shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range. Atlanta is ranked sixth in the league from the foul-line, converting 78.6 percent of its attempts.
Washington has gone from bad to worse with just two wins in its last eight games including a six-game losing streak. This past Monday the Wizards lost to Dallas 102-92 as a 9 ½-point road underdog and dropped their 25th straight road game with a 97-89 loss to New Orleans as a nine-point underdog on Tuesday. They are 13-35 SU overall and 18-30 ATS. Washington’s recent downturn has dropped it to 13th-place in the East.
Nick Young leads the team in scoring with an average of 17.3 points a game and Andray Blatche is the leading rebounder with 8.2. Rookie guard John Wall is averaging 14.7 points and leads the team in assists with 9.3 a game, which is fifth-best in the NBA.
The Wizards are shooting 44.2 percent from the field and averaging 96.9 points a game. They have the second worst point differential in the league; giving up an average of 103.2 points a game. Washington has also struggled under the boards with an average of just 40.2 rebounds a game.
Atlanta is 2-3 ATS in its last five road games and is 4-3 ATS in its last seven games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in four of its last five games.
Washington is 2-2 ATS in its last four games at home and 2-4 ATS in its last six games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in four of its last six games.
Head-to-head, the Hawks have won the last 10 games SU and are 7-2 ATS in the last nine. The total has gone ‘over’ in three of the last four meetings.
Atlanta won 116-96 the last time these two teams met as a 7 ½-point home favorite and should open pretty close to the same line this time around on the road. The Wizards should play better in front of the home-town crowd, but unless the spread opens higher, stick with the Hawks to win and cover up to seven points.
The odds makers have the Atlanta Hawks as a -3.5 point favorite with an over/under of 196.
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