Hawks vs Wizards Pick, Preview & Betting Odds For Wednesday, March 8th

Check out our free Hawks vs Wizards pick and preview for this NBA game in Washington. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this NBA matchup.

Hawks vs Wizards NBA Pick & Preview

Sport: NBA
Teams: Atlanta Hawks at Washington Wizards
Where: Washington at Capital One Arena
Date: Wednesday, March 8th
Betting Odds WAS +3.5, ATL -166 | WAS +138 O/U nan

The Hawks come into today’s matchup with an overall record of 32-33. So far, the team has gone 29-35-1 against the spread. Today, the Hawks will be looking to snap a 2 game losing streak. In these games, they have an average scoring differential of -5.0 points.

Atlanta will be gunning to get in the win column vs the Wizards, as they previously lost to the Heat by a score of 130-128. However, because they entered as 2 point underdogs, they came away with an ATS win. Atlanta let an opportunity for a win slip away as they held a lead going into the 2nd half of action. Leading the team in scoring was Trae Young, as he contributed 25 points while hitting 52.9% of his shots.

So far, the Wizards have put together an overall record of 31-34, while going 30-33-2 vs the spread. Against the spread, Washington has a mark of 0-2-1. Straight up, their record is 1-2 in these games.

The Wizards are coming off a 119-117 win over the Pistons. Although they came away with a straight up win, it was not enough to cover the spread as they entered as 11 point favorites. Washington went on to win the game, despite trailing by 5 going into halftime. In the win, Bradley Beal led the team in scoring with 32 points on a field goal percentage of 66.7%.

Head To Head Recap & Stats

In the most recent matchup between the two teams, the Wizards picked up the win 119-116 win over the Hawks. Heading into the game, Washington was the 7.5 point underdogs, giving them an ATS win. This has been the only matchup between the two teams this season. Similar to their season-long average, the Hawks averaged 116.0 points per game vs the Wizards. Similar to the Hawks, the Wizards scored at a rate near the league average. In their games vs Atlanta, the team averaged 112.5 points per game. In terms of betting vs the spread, the Wizards have gone 3-2, but the Hawks actually have a positive scoring differential. In these meetings, Atlanta has averaged 116 points per contest, while allowing 113. Over the course of these games, they averaged 229 points per game, leading a 4-1 over-under record.

Odds & Free Betting Analysis For This NBA Game

For the season, the Atlanta offense is the 6th ranked unit in the NBA, at 117.1 points per contest. When looking at the Hawks pace of play, they tend to play an up-tempo style of basketball. So far, the team is in the upper half of the NBA in possessions per game, averaging 100.7. Even though the unit has one of the lower effective field goal percentages in the NBA at 54.0%. Their up-tempo style of play has given them enough opportunites to make up for their poor shooting numbers.

On defense, the Hawks will look for some improved play, as they are currently the 21st ranked unit in points allowed per game.

On offense, Trae Young leads the Hawks in scoring at 26.6 points per game, placing him 15th in the NBA. Overall, Young has hit 42.7% of his shots while accounting for 21.3% of the team’s looks from the field. In today’s game, he will be working against a defensive unit that is 16th in points allowed to point-guards. At 21.0 points per game, Dejounte Murray is the 2nd leading scorer for the Hawks. For the season, he is 84th in the league in player efficiency rating, while posting a field goal percentage of 47.0%.

Through 65 games, the Wizards are averaging 113.2 points per contest, placing them 19th in the NBA. So far, the Wizards are averaging 98.2 possessions per game, which places them below the NBA average. The Wizards are a candidate to see their offensive numbers improve, as not only do they play at a fast pace, but they are a strong team at scoring inside. So far they are 11th in made 2-point field goals per game.

Defensively, Washington has had its problems giving up an average of 112.0 points per game (16th).

On offense, Kyle Kuzma leads the Wizards in scoring at 21.4 points per game, placing him 40th in the NBA. Overall, Kuzma has hit 44.4% of his shots while accounting for 21.0% of the team’s looks from the field. In today’s game, he will be working against a defensive unit that is 26th in points allowed to power-fowards. At 22.9 points per game, Kristaps Porzingis is the 2nd leading scorer for the Wizards. For the season, he is 34th in the league in player efficiency rating, while posting a field goal percentage of 48.9%.