Courtesy: Fansided.com
Despite their late season struggles, the Washington Wizards took most of the NBA by surprise with their most recent sweep of the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the 2015 playoffs. This Sunday, Washington played Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Atlanta Hawks, in Atlanta, and continued to surprise NBA fans by coming back from a ten-point deficit at halftime to win Game 1, 104-98.
Washington is currently 5-0 so far for the 2015 playoffs. Now that the Wizards are up 1-0 in the series against the Hawks, they will be looking to continue this momentum and get to the Eastern Conference Finals. This article will examine five of the biggest factors that will help the Washington Wizards propel themselves past Atlanta and onto the next round.
1) Washington’s Defense
John Wall will be facing another Eastern Conference All-Star guard, Jeff Teague. Teague will test Wall and Wall will need to focus nightly on keeping down Teague’s pace and scoring. In Washington’s Game 1 victory, Wall kept Teague to only 11 points and 7 assists, but to continue winning against Atlanta, Wall will be forced to keep Teague’s numbers around this or lower. Overall, the Wizards are a better defensive team than Atlanta, which is why this will play such a big factor during this series. Washington finished the season ranked fifth in defensive efficiency with a rating of 100.0. The Wizards have the ability to cause a lot of problems for Atlanta’s offense and turnovers turning into fast break points could be their deadliest weapon. Due to the fact that the Hawks have a better offensive efficiency, Washington will need to keep Atlanta below 95 points per game to steal this series.
2) John Wall’s Passing
For the Wizards to beat the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, Washington will need to be led by their offensive conductor, John Wall. His presence and assist to turnover ratio will play a huge factor in this series. During Game 1, Wall finished with 13 assists and only two turnovers. Wall’s ability to create spacing and scoring opportunities will go along way for Washington. Because Washington is already better defensively, I believe who ever thrives the most scoring during this series will be a key difference maker. John Wall needs to lead the Wizards to over 100 points per game. He also needs to create spacing problems for the Hawk’s defensive. Wall’s pick and rolls; along with, his distribution to Bradley Beal and Paul Pierce create for a deadly offense, which will be extremely hard for Atlanta to keep up with.
3) Paul ‘The Truth” Pierce
We saw how big of a factor Paul Pierce played in the first round series against the Toronto Raptors, so it should come as no surprise that Pierce will be a huge factor in Washington’s matchup with Atlanta. Pierce signed with Washington this past summer and his locker room experience and mentality have brought a lot of heart to this young Washington team. So far, during the 2015 NBA playoffs, Pierce is averaging 15.5PTs, 3.3REBs and 1.1ASTs per game. Also, his clutch ability to shoot the ‘big shot’ has also helped Washington maintain their leads in crunch time. Pierce tore the Raptors to shreds and then ripped Toronto and Drake on social media with his ‘King In The North’ post, which was absolutely brilliant. Now, Pierce will be looking to continue his streak against the Hawks and if Atlanta cannot stop him, Washington will surely be on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals.
4) Rebounds and Turnovers
Rebounding and turnovers will play a huge role in this series. Washington will need to control the pace of the game by beating Atlanta on the boards and also by causing turnovers. During Game 1, Washington out rebounded Atlanta, 54-52 but they also caused more turnovers than the Hawks. Atlanta had 11 turnovers and Washington only had six. In two of their four regular season meetings, Washington turned over the ball 20 times to Atlanta and the Hawks made them pay. I believe that Washington has come along way since these games and has grown more as a team, playing more mature ball. To continue winning, Washington will need to avoid immature and reckless decisions, so they can control the ball and the tempo of the game.
5) Bradley Beal’s Shooting
Bradley Beal is a young and talented player entering the biggest series of his career. Since Atlanta has a better offensive efficiency than the Wizards, Washington will need his offensive abilities more than ever. Beal needs to light up the score board nightly. For the 2015 playoffs, he is currently averaging, 20.8PTs, 5.3REBs, 3.4ASTs and 1.3STLs. His presence on the court is essential to Washington beating Atlanta in this series. In Game 1 vs the Hawks, Beal stepped it up shooting 40.9 percent from field goal range and behind the arc. He finished with 28PTs and helped Washington get over the 100-point mark. If Beal is able to ‘do his thing’ offensively this whole series, Washington will come out with the win.
Prediction: Wizards win series in six games.
