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Charlotte Bobcats vs Washington Wizards Betting Preview & Free NBA Picks

Bobcats vs Wizards NBA Handicapping

In general, the people involved with the Bobcats and Wizards franchises are happy bunnies. Why? They’ve both ended their postseason droughts in 2014. The only business that remains is the battle for seeding in the Eastern Conference. [ad-4468020]

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Date/Time: Wednesday, April 9 2014, 7 pm EST
Venue: Verizon Center, Washington DC
Charlotte +5, Washington -5
Over/Under: 194.5
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These teams have almost constantly been horrible over the past several seasons, so it’s nice to see some fresh blood in the postseason, even in the hapless East.

The turnarounds can be largely attributed to two players: Charlotte’s Al Jefferson and DC’s John Wall.

The former is a wide body with a resourceful offensive game. Jefferson is a better than 20/10 player (points/rebounds) and most of the Bobcats’s (39-38) offense (don’t worry, the world be soon be put right and this franchise will be re-named the Hornets next year) flows through him. He was definitely snubbed from the All-Star Game this season.

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For the Wiz (40-37), PG Wall took some time to mature, but he has developed into one of the league’s elite guards. He scores and distributes with ease, and offers a secondary rebounder in a sort of Jason-Kidd kind of way (Re: all over the boards that bounce dramatically out of the paint).

The former Kentucky product has complete control of his team and uses defensive enforcer Marcin Gortat as a complement to his talents.

Both teams look to avoid being star-struck as they enter the NBA Playoffs. The Miami Heat, the slumping Indiana Pacers and the upstart Brooklyn Nets/Toronto Raptors are the class of the conference, but a frisky Wizards or Bobcats team looks to catch one of the giants sleeping.

At the end of the day, let’s not get overly delusional: both of these teams are barely over the .500 mark; you couldn’t classify either team as dominant.
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The Wiz and the ‘Cats are currently scrapping for the sixth and seventh seeds in the East, with Charlotte a game back in the standings. A win for the Bobcats would close that gap.

Yet, it’s debatable which is the better fate, with two-seed Indiana struggling so much of late.

A team in its groove like the Raptors or the Chicago Bulls – even though a lower seed – may be a tougher first-round draw.

In order to win, the Bobcats will have to bring tight defense on Wall, which is attainable thanks to the solid all-around play of PG Kemba Walker. He leads the team in steals per, which is saying something because Charlotte is fourth in the NBA in points allowed (97.2 per contest).

Coming off a galvanizing OT win against Cleveland, the Bobcats ought to believe in their ability to close the gap on DC.

Jefferson and Walker have been well-documented, but the secondary scoring from someone like SG Gerald Henderson could be the difference on Wednesday night.

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It’s clear that Wall is a marquee talent, but if you can shut him down (or at least slow him down) the Wizards can be had.

Shooting guard Bradley Beal is a decent scorer, but if a team can limit Wall or Beal in the backcourt, the DC offense loses much of its punch.

I like Charlotte’s chances of grabbing a road win and making the bottom portion of the Eastern Conference postseason table rather interesting.

Charlotte 102, Washington 96

(take the OVER)

By James Hayes

James has been naming every player on the EA Sports video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. Your comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!