The NBA Playoffs continue on Monday night and I will have a free pick in Game 4 between the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards, which will take place at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The game has a start time of 7:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Current Vegas betting odds have the Atlanta listed as 4 point favorites, while the total is set at 199.
Analysis: The Atlanta Hawks came into the playoffs as the top seed in the East, but they may be in a bit of trouble now after losing game 3 to a Wizards team that was playing without John Wall. This was a great chance for them to grab back homecourt advantage, but they just didn’t play well all game until they were down by 20 with 8 minutes to go. Atlanta did tie the game with 14 seconds before Paul Pierce hit a shot as time expired. Atlanta has now gone 26-18 on the road this year, and have gone 1-3 on the road in the playoffs so far. The Hawks have gone 29-14-1 ATS in their last 44 games playing on 1 days rest, but just 3-13-1 ATS in their last 17 Conference Semifinals games. The Hawks scored 101.4 ppg on 45.4% shooting overall and 37.4% shooting from long range on the road this year. Defensively they allowed 99.5 ppg on 44.1% shooting overall and 35.2% shooting from long range away from home this year.
The Washington Wizards upset the Raptors in round 1 of the playoffs and were picked by many to upset the Hawks in round 2. They will probably have to do it without John Wall for much of this series, but they showed in game 3 that they can win without him as they held a DD for much of the game before winning on a last second shot by Paul Pierce. The Wizrads have gone 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record, but just 6-23-2 ATS in their last 31 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. Washington has been very good at home this year, where they are now 31-13. The Wizards have scored 102.3 ppg on 47.2% shooting overall and 38.4% from long range at home for the year. Defensively they have been solid at home allowing 96.3 pg on 44.4% shooting overall and 32.1% shooting from long range.
Pick: Once again I will go with the under in this series, it hasn't been too kind for me, but I feel that this is a hug game for both teams and that should lead to more defense. The Wizards are missing offense with Wall being out and Atlanta has played better defense this year than they have showed in this series. The Wizards have been a really god defensive team at home where they have allowed just 96.3 ppg on the year. This game should be at a slower pace, which should keep the scoring in the lower 190s.
-$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
Stay on top of the latest odds and line moves for the NBA Playoffs with our real-time odds from Las Vegas and offshore!
Buy/ Sell: LA Clippers Without Chris Paul
Teddy Covers and Steve Fezik from Pregame.com debate whether to buy or sell the Los Angeles Clippers moving forward through the playoffs.