NBA Betting – Thanksgiving Day Thursday Picks – Washington Wizards vs Atlanta Hawks
Before nba betting fans turn their attention to more sports betting events this weekend, we have the NBA doubleheader on Thursday night. It’s time for our weekly hoops picks for NBA gambling action.
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Team records:
Washington: 5-8 SU, 5-8 ATS
Atlanta: 8-7 SU, 5-10 ATS
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WIZARDS vs. HAWKS
Time: Thursday 8 ET
Venue: Philips Arena, Atlanta
Money line: Wizards +280/Hawks -340
Spread: Hawks -8
Over/Under: 196.5
Next time you think it might be a cool idea to coach in the NBA, wear those expensive suits and get to scream at referees in front on millions of TV viewers, incite home crowd by just flailing your arms, think about Larry Drew.
Drew is a former NBA player, and a good one. He’s banged around the fringes of the league since his playing days, and last season had a front row seats as assistant coach when the Hawks did OK in the regular season and then went down to Orlando in the second round without a wimper. No sin there. The Magic are just better.
Exit head coach Mike Woodson, who basically let the Hawks do whatever the hell they wanted on offense. Enter Drew, whose first order of business was installing a motion offense and trying to talk Josh Smith, Joe Johnson and a team full of wing players that it was time to concentrate a little on the defensive end of the court.
Uh, no. The new offense hasn’t yet taken hold – starting point guard Mike Bibby actually has fewer assists per game than he did last season – and the defense is giving up more points per game (99.1) than last year’s defensive-indifference team did.
Fortunately, Drew thinks he knows how to solve the problem. ““I told the guys I don’t know what you’re doing the night before we play,” Drew said after the Hawks were crushed at home by a Boston team playing its second straight road game. “I don’t know what you’re doing away from the floor. I don’t know what it is, but something is going on that is not allowing us to play this game with an energy and a passion we should be playing with.”
Atlanta is a speed team constructed for ESPN highlights and not ready for any kind of deep playoff run. But after winning their first six games (admittedly against lousy competition), the Hawks have faded to 8-7. The motion offense seems to have already been scrapped in favor of the one-on-one style that the players like, and even Drew has to be wondering if his team has falled a notch or two in an improved Eastern Conference.
Best bet: The Wizards haven’t yet figured out how to keep things together on the road. That hardly makes them unique, but it does make them a dangerous team to wager on. Eight is a heavy number, though, so a better avenue might be the under as Washington could be a little weary (and reluctant to push the ball) after two straight overtime games. Sacramento is on a fast track to oblivion, and has no one to cover Griffin. Liking a parlay of the under on Washington/Atlanta and Clippers -3.
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Lawrence Paul is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog, and is a free-lance gambling and travel expert from Massachusetts.
