WASHINGTON — Over the course of the 82-game NBA regular season, few games stand out above the fray as marquee matchups. Until the final playoff push, only a handful of contests are must-watch TV both for what they will bring in the moment, as well as what they might portend come spring.
Wednesday night’s game against the first-place Hawks in Atlanta is one of those games for the Washington Wizards.
Even though Atlanta’s 19-game winning streak came to a screeching halt at the hands of Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Hornets Monday night, the Hawks remain seven games clear of the field as the best team in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards, meanwhile, are smack in the middle of a four-team trailing pack separated by just three games. But no matter where they finish in the playoff chase, they know the road to the NBA Finals most likely goes through Atlanta.
The Wizards need no reminder of just how good the Hawks are. The last time Washington paid a visit to Philips Arena, the Wiz were on a three-game winning streak and had won 12 of 17. The Hawks grabbed them by the ear and led them out of the gym laughing, hanging a 31-point defeat on their next-closest division competitor. It was Washington’s biggest loss of the season.
Starting with that defeat, the Wizards have hit a bit of a snag in their season. While the Wiz beat San Antonio and swiped a nice road win at Chicago, Washington is just 6-7 in its last 13 games, and this time travels south on a three-game losing skid.
Who are these Hawks, anyway?
With LeBron James leaving Miami to return to Cleveland, this year was supposed to be Washington’s chance to rise to the top of the Southeast Division. Instead, the Hawks have come out of nowhere, and steamrolled to an absurd 33-3 record since their 7-6 start.
They don’t have a single All-Star starter, but have three reserves in Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague. Those are probably not household names, but the trio makes Atlanta the best-represented team in the entire NBA.
The Hawks don’t have a single player in the top 15 in the league in Estimated Wins Added — an NBA version of baseball’s WAR. But all three of their All-Stars rank in the top 30. Five players average between 11.6 and 17.2 points per game. As a team, they have the sixth-highest scoring offense, facilitated by the second-highest assist total. Their defense ranks third in the league.
In essence, the Hawks all do everything well and nothing spectacularly. While John Wall dazzles with impressive dimes and determined drives to the basket, Teague simply shines through in his efficiency in working with his teammates. He trails Wall in every major statistical category, but his plus/minus per game is 7.3, meaning his team scores more than seven points more than the opposition in each game he plays. It’s no wonder he’s one of three Hawks in the top 12 in the league in that category.
All this has allowed veteran Kyle Korver to become the best version of himself. The sharpshooting swingman has shot 52 percent from the field, 54 percent from three-point range and 92 percent from the line. If he can finish at that rate, he will be the first 50/50/90 shooter in NBA history.
How can the Wizards win?
If not for the New Orleans Pelicans, the Wizards would be facing a Hawks team on a 20-game winning streak. But New Orleans not only ended Atlanta’s winning streak — they did so emphatically, closing them out with a 115-100 victory. Of course, it helps to have a transcendent talent such as Anthony Davis, who went off for 29 points and 13 rebounds.
It helped also that Atlanta missed some shots, finishing the game just 45 percent from the floor and 31 percent from long range. But the most notable thing the Pelicans did well was hit the glass, out-rebounding the Hawks 17 to 9 on the offensive side and 52-32 overall. In fact, Davis and Omer Asik combined for 30 boards, nearly matching Atlanta’s team total on their own.
If the Wizards are to follow the same pattern toward success, they’ll need to win that battle. They were minus-3 in rebounds and minus-11 in turnovers in the their last matchup, a combination that will never lead to a victory. No Wizards player had more than six rebounds, and Marcin Gortat had just one in nearly 20 minutes of gameplay, posting a ghastly minus-18 in plus/minus.
Gortat will have to be better, but Washington may also need to lean more on Kris Humphries, who has snatched down 11 or more boards in four of his last five games, averaging 12 a game over that stretch. If Washington can limit second chances on the defensive end and give themselves additional opportunities on the offensive end, they may be able to replicate New Orleans’ success and flip the tables on Atlanta.
Washington only has more chance to find the formula to beat the Hawks after Wednesday night, at home in the final week of the regular season. Win or lose, a strong showing in Atlanta would go a long way to proving the Wizards can compete, should they have to return there this spring.
