Washington Wizards vs. Atlanta Hawks: Game 5 Prediction, Betting Odds, Early Start Time

The Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks will face off in a pivotal Game 5 Wednesday night. Having split the first four games of their first-round playoff series, Wednesday’s winner will be one victory away from advancing to the 2017 NBA conference semifinals.

Game 5 has an unusually early start time, set to begin at 6 p.m. EDT. TNT will broadcast the contest on TV, and viewers can watch a free live stream online at tntdrama.com.

Even though No.4 vs. No.5 matchups are usually difficult to call, this year’s Eastern Conference series has been more competitive that many had predicted. With six more regular-season wins and the best player in the series, just about every expert picked the Wizards to advance. The series seemed to be going in that direction with Washington winning the first two games, but Atlanta held serve at home with two straight victories of their own.

The series returns to the Verizon Center, where the Wizards have played much better this season. They are 32-11 on their home court, and Washington went 2-0 at home against Atlanta during the regular season.

No matter where Wednesday’s game is being played, the Wizards won’t win if they can’t change a few things that happened in Atlanta.

Washington’s top players are performing just about as well as they did in the regular season. John Wall has been sensational, averaging 28.8 points and 10.0 assists on 50.7 percent shooting. Bradley Beals is putting up 24.3 points per game, though he hasn’t been incredibly efficient with nearly 23 shots per contest.

The Wizards’ role players, however, haven’t gotten the job done on the road. Markieff Morris hasn’t scored in double-digits since putting up 21 points in Game 1, while Marcin Gortat went from averaging 14 points in Washington to just two points in Atlanta.

In Atlanta’s Game 3 victory, the Hawks were propelled by their starters, getting 56 combined points from Paul Millsap and Dennis Schroder. In Game 4, the Hawks got at least 10 points from six different players, including 16 points from Dwight Howard in his first double-digit performance of the series.

If Howard is going to put up another double-double, the Hawks have a good chance to steal Game 5 and return home with a chance to clinch the series in Game 6.

Oddsmakers aren’t counting on that to continue. The Wizards are six-point favorites in Game 5, via OddsShark, and the over/under is 212.5.

Role players usually perform much better at home, and that should be the case Wednesday night. Look for Washington’s defense to improve against an Atlanta offense, which was among the worst in the NBA this season.

Prediction: Washington over Atlanta, 103-97