Atlanta Hawks AT Washington Wizards
April 9, 2011 at 7 PM EST
Opening Line:  Atl -2.5
Current Line: Atl -2
Opening Total:  199.5
Current Total:  200
Opening Moneyline:  Atl -140 / Was +120
Current Moneyline:  Atl -135 / Was +115

Things are firmly in place for both these teams:  Atlanta has claimed the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference and they will face the Magic, who swept them last season in 4 games, winning by an average of 22 a game – and the Washington Wizards, a collection of castaways and young players attempting to earn minutes, contracts, and acclaim.

The Hawks did beat Orlando 3 of 4 times this season, but the Magic have had a tumultous year due to trades and if they are in top form in a couple weeks, the Hawks could be looking at another sweep.  Atlanta is just 20-19 on the road this season and the Magic will have home court advantage in the playoffs, and the Magic have been very tough at the Amway Center in Orlando.

The Hawks have been playing without star forward Josh Smith but Atlanta coach Larry Drew has little sympathy for the players, who are not playing their hardest in his mind.  “Regardless of what our situation is, whether we’ve got guys here or whether we have guys out, you still have to come out and you still have to compete,” Drew said following Friday’s 114-102 loss at Indiana. “You have to be a presence very early, you have to play with a sense of urgency very early, and we didn’t do that.”

In the Hawks favor tonight is the fact that they have won 12 straight over the Wizards.  “It becomes very psychological. I wasn’t even aware of (the streak),” Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. “I don’t think usually what happens in previous years has a lot to do with what happens this year. It’s good ink to write about.”

Some betting trends:

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the Hawks’ past 7 games and Atlanta is 1-5 SU in their lat 6 games on the road.  The total has gone UNDER in 9 of their past 13 on the road and Atlanta is 5-0 SU in their last 5 games against the Wizards.  Atlanta is also 5-0 SU in their last 5 road games against the Wizards and the total has gone UNDER in 13 of Atlanta’s last 19 games on the road against the Washington Wizards.

The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington’s last 6 games and the Wizards are 6-19 SU in their last 25 games.  The total has gone OVER in 4 of the Wizards’ last 6 at home and the Wizards are 5-12 SU in their last 17 at home.  Washington is 2-8 ATS in their last 10 against the Hawks and the Wizards are 0-5 SU in their last 5 games against the Hawks.  The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Washington’s last 19 home games against the Hawks and the Wizards are 0-5 SU in their last 5 home games against Atlanta.  The Washington Wizards are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 at home against Atlanta.

Key Matchups:

John Wall & Jordan Crawford vs. Kirk Hinrich & Joe Johnson

This is another game which due to injuries doesn’t really feature the matchups we’re accustomed to seeing.  Wall has had a solid rookie season, posting 16.3 points per game and 8.5 assists per game, and Washington has been respectable at home, with a record of 18-21.  Wall must reduce his turnovers; he turns it over 3.9 times per game, but that is to be expected from a rookie point guard.

Hinrich has made a seamless to playing with the Hawks, and will face his former team tonight.  His percentages and most numbers are about the same as with Washington, though his assists are down a marked 1.2 per game.  He’s seeing roughly the same number of minutes; the difference is Joe Johnson, whose usage rate significantly lowers Hinrich’s.  Joe Johnson will have the task of guarding Jordan Crawford, who through 23 games with Washington is averaging 17.2 points per game while shooting 16.6 shots a game.  His field goal percentage leaves some to be desired, but he is looking like a steal for the Wizards, who need as much help from prospects as they can get after blowing their team up last season.

Much like Minnesota, Washington has every reason in the book to mail it in tonight, but I don’t expect that to happen.  There are a lot of players hungry for playing time on their roster and that could be the difference in beating the Hawks, who are playing for nothing but pride, as well.