The playoff-bound Atlanta Hawks caught a break ahead of their two-game set against the play-in-bound Washington Wizards, as Washington talisman Bradley Beal was ruled out with a hamstring injury. Atlanta just barely capitalized on Monday, escaping with a 125-124 win.
Can the Hawks make it two for two against Washington? Here are our best free NBA betting picks and predictions for Wizards vs. Hawks on May 12 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Wizards vs Hawks game info
• Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2021
• Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
Wizards vs Hawks odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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NBA Sharp Money and Line Movement Report
By Patrick EversonThe Hawks opened -6 and quickly got to -7 Tuesday night at DraftKings, then this morning backed up to -6.5, where the line is at 12:15 p.m. ET. The underdog Wizards are attracting 82 percent of early spread bets and 86 percent of early spread money. The total initially rose from 239 to 240.5, then receded to 238.5, with 63 percent of bets/69 percent of money on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameWizards at Hawks betting preview
Injuries
Wizards: Bradley Beal SG (Out), Deni Avdija SF (Out), Thomas Bryant C (Out).
Hawks: Cam Reddish SF (Out), Tony Snell SG (Questionable).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Over is 6-0 in the Wizards' last six games and 4-0 in the Hawks' last four games. Find more NBA betting trends for Wizards vs. Hawks.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
Thanks to a 45-point fourth quarter on Monday, the Wizards covered the eight-point spread to continue a scorching stretch of play that has seen them go 13-3-1 ATS over their last 17 games. However, Washington's performance without Beal was pretty much the same story as the Wizards with Beal, with a lack of surrounding talent painfully apparent.
Rui Hachimura was his usual self, intriguing and capable of filling it up, but not overly inefficient. While Davis Bertans was knocking down threes at a high rate as he does, he was giving it back on the defensive end, as he also does.
Washington found a lot of success playing on the break in Monday's contest, with Westbrook happy to push the pace and punish the Hawks' transition defense. However, Atlanta should be expected to tighten that up ahead of the rematch as it has been solid defending on the break in 2021, giving up the ninth-fewest fast-break points in the NBA.
Ultimately, the Wizards' 45-point fourth and success in transition covered up what was a serious mismatch. Washington had no answers for any of Atlanta's plethora of offensive talent, with John Collins, Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic scoring 25 or more, while Clint Capela pulled down seven offensive boards and added 10 points.
Still without Beal, whose absence sees Washington's -2.20 net rating fall to -5.70, we don't expect the Wizards to keep it as close this time.
PREDICTION: Hawks -6.5 (-108)
Over/Under pick
The Wizards have seen some large totals recently, including a total of 250 against the Pacers, and have continued to reward Over bettors with a 6-0 O/U mark in their last six games. The Hawks, too, have been on a solid run of Overs to close out the season, topping their total in four straight games.
Both sides in this one lean heavily toward offense, with the Hawks a Top-10 team in offensive rating and a Bottom-10 team in defensive rating. The Wizards' lack of talent around Beal and Westbrook has them ranked as a mediocre team in offensive rating, but a lowly 20th in defensive rating.
While there is an All-Defense caliber player in this one in Capela, Washington effectively mitigated his impact on Monday. The Wizards played small in the frontcourt for a large chunk of minutes, forcing Capela away from the basket and giving Westbrook plenty of runaway with no concern for one of the league's best rim protectors.
The Hawks and Wizards played to a 249 total on Monday. Expect another high-scoring affair on Wednesday.
PREDICTION: Over 239 (-110)
Player prop pick
Former MVP Russell Westbrook made history over the last week, first equaling — and then breaking — Oscar Robertson's record for most career triple-doubles. Westbrook has been, as has become the norm, an absolute flamethrower during the season's second half. He broke Robertson's record in style on Monday against Atlanta, with 28 points, 21 assists and 13 boards.
With Beal still sidelined and Westbrook capable of absolutely dominating Washington's usage, expect Westbrook to post another huge line and begin to extend his new NBA record.
PREDICTION: Russell Westbrook Over 54.5 Points + Assists + Rebounds (-120)
Wizards vs Hawks betting card
- Hawks -6.5 (-108)
- Over 239 (-110)
- Russell Westbrook Over 54.5 Points + Assists + Rebounds (-120)
Picks made on 5/11/2021 at 8:35 p.m. ET
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