Wizards VS Pistons PREVIEW

NBA betting continues as the Washington Wizards will host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, March 8th in this Eastern Conference matchup at Capital One Arena. This will be the second game in a series of four. Both teams are trying to position themselves in post season play. Only one game separates the two so this game has some meaningful playoff implications.

Cant beat the Heat

The Hawks are coming off of a two-game losing streak after losing both games of a home and home series against the Miami Heat. It's been a season of not meeting expectations, locker room turmoil, and head coach pink slips. Meeting a disciplined team like the Miami Heat will expose you if you're not playing your best ball. After giving up an average of 122 points, the Hawk's defense has to show up to get back into the winning column.

We know what the lethal backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray is capable of offensively. It’s the defense that has caused friction on this team. Starting with former head coach Nate McMillan. At one point it looked like an ultimatum was made on whether the team was gonna move on from superstar Trae Young or the head coach. Obviously, with Nate gone, the Hawks chose Trae. What hasn't changed is the swiss cheese defense that will cost the Hawks a win tonight if it's not sure up.

The Wizards got the win last night. That should be the main thing right? Well, they entered halftime down 5 to a Pistons team coming off of a hard fought game Monday night and who is missing a ton of players. Then needed a Gafford putback at the buzzer. As I mentioned yesterday, the Wizards are hemorrhaging points from behind the arc. They gave up a 43% clip last night. Now Trae Young and Dejounte Murray come to town who are both chucking about 6 shots a piece from downtown. Perimeter defense is a must in this one.

The Wizards were able to really shoot the rock well last night. They need that type of effort again tonight if they want to win on the back end of a back-to-back. With both teams eyeing and fighting to get out of the play-in games for the postseason, it's clutch time. March is known for its madness and the Wizards just need some consistency to get back to .500 and avoid the play-in tournament.

Head to Head

The Wizards and Hawks have only played each other one time this season. Now they will play each other twice in 3 days. The Wizards handled the Hawks in game one by a slim margin of 119-116. That game wasn't that long ago and they will be familiar foes as the regular season comes to a close.

Team Leaders

Our Betting Pick for Today

In this matchup, I’m taking the Wizards and the 4 points. I think the Wizards came into Detroit thinking just showing up was enough. Regardless of the players you may not know in Detroit, they’re still professionals showing the league what they can do if not for the Pistons then somewhere else. Atlanta has not looked good enough for me to be a road favorite and I think the focus of almost losing last night helps the Wizards back in the nation’s capital.

The over under is sitting at 236 currently. That is high. I know the Wizards played last night, but that doesn’t always guarantee more points due to tired defense. It could be the Wizards come out shooting poorly due to tired legs. That is the bet I’m gonna hedge on is the under. 236 is too high for count.