Tuesday's Tip Sheet
By Brian Edwards
**Wizards at Hawks**
-- As of early Monday night, most betting shops had Atlanta (64-25 straight up, 52-35-2 against the spread) favored by 6.5 points for Game 2 of this best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals series. The total was 197.5, while the Wizards were available on the money line for a +245 return (risk $100 to win $245).
-- Washington (51-36 SU, 38-46-3 ATS) rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to capture a 104-98 win as a five-point underdog in Sunday's Game 1 at Philips Arena in Atlanta. The Wizards have now won Game 1 in four consecutive playoff series. They held Atlanta scoreless for the first 5.5 minutes of the fourth quarter to take their first lead since the first quarter, and it was one they refused to relinquish.
-- John Wall was the catalyst in the series opener, producing 18 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Bradley Beal scored a game-high 28 points despite suffering a sprained ankle that kept him out of a good chunk of the fourth quarter. Paul Pierce added 19 points, while Drew Gooden had 12 points, five rebounds and one blocked shot in 14 quality minutes off the bench. Marcin Gortat and Otto Porter both produced double-doubles with 12 points and 12 rebounds and 10 and 11, respectively.
-- In the losing effort, Al Horford had 17 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists despite dealing with foul trouble that relegated him to just 30 minutes of playing time. DeMarre Carroll's sensational postseason play continued with a 24-point effort. He was the only Hawks starter who shot better than 50-percent from the field. Paul Millsap finished with 15 points, 12 boards, eight assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots, but the two-time All-Star was only 6-of-17 from the field. Kyle Korver scored 13 points but was just 3-of-11 from downtown.
-- Washington went 3-5 ATS in its eight regular-season games as an underdog of six points or more.
-- Atlanta is mired in a 2-7-1 ATS slump in its last 10 games.
-- Atlanta All-Star point guard Jeff Teague sprained his ankle in a Game 5 win over Brooklyn at home last week. In Sunday's Game 2, Teague again turned the ankle but did return to the game after getting a fresh tape job. He is expected to start Tuesday night. Beal's ankle injury appeared to be worse. Beal limped to the locker room and when he tried to come back in the game, Randy Whitman quickly subbed him out after witnessing him laboring. Nevertheless, word out of the Wizards camp is that Beal will be ready to go for Game 2. Whether he's 100 percent or not remains to be seen.
-- The 'over' has hit in all five head-to-head meetings between these clubs this season. Atlanta has seen the 'over' go 3-1 in its last four games, while Washington has watched the 'over' go 7-1 in its last eight outings. The 'over' is on an 8-1 run in the last nine head-to-head encounters.
-- The 'over' is 45-44 overall for the Hawks, but the 'under' is 23-22 in their home games.
-- The 'under' is 43-42-2 overall for the Wizards, 24-19-1 in their road assignments.
-- VI's Chris David has these takes on Game 1 as we look ahead to Game 2: "I thought the Hawks would carry over their momentum from their series against the Nets into Game 1 on Sunday and they did, but for only the first 24 minutes. The NBA is a make-or-miss league and the Hawks did more of the latter in the second half. The one stat that jumped out at me in Game 1 was Atlanta’s inability to get to the free throw line, just 14 attempts. This wasn’t Atlanta’s strength during the regular season but when the jump shots aren’t falling, Teague and the backcourt need to be more aggressive and make the refs blow their whistle.
"I liked the Hawks team total ‘over’ in Game 1 (101.5) and caught myself celebrating too early after 63 points in the first half. Despite shooting 37 percent, Atlanta still put up 98 points and that was with 11 free throws. In five games this season, Atlanta is averaging 106 PPG against Washington. Including Game 1, the Hawks have hit 13 bombs from 3-point land in their last four playoff games. If Atlanta can connect on 40-45 percent of their shots in Game 2, I’m expecting a minimum of 100 and I’ll take my chances chasing with its team total ‘over’ (102) again."
-- TNT will have the telecast at 8:05 p.m. Eastern.
**Grizzlies at Warriors**
-- Golden St. (72-15 SU, 49-37-1 ATS) cruised to a 101-86 win over Memphis in Sunday's Game 1 as a 10-point home 'chalk.' It was the Warriors' ninth consecutive victory. Steph Curry led the way with 22 points, seven assists and four steals, while Klay Thompson added 18 points and passed out six helpers. Draymond Green contributed 16 points, five boards, three assists and a pair of steals. Harrison Barnes was also in double figures with 11 points, while Marreese Speights had 10 points and five boards in just 12 minutes of playing time from off of the bench.
-- Golden St. reserve forward David Lee made his first postseason appearance after missing the series sweep of New Orleans in the opening round due to an injury. Lee only saw three minutes and change of action, missing all three of his shots from the field. The former All-Star had a pair of offensive rebounds.
-- Memphis (59-29 SU, 43-42-3 ATS) played Game 1 without Mike Conley, but the team's starting point guard declared himself 'probable' for Game 2 early Monday evening. Conley suffered facial fractures when he took an inadvertent elbow in Game 3 of the Portland series. He had to have surgery and there's still plenty of swelling. Nick Calathes, who has started the last three games at PG, was held scoreless in Game 1. He missed all four of his shots from the field and both of his free-throw attempts. In 20 minutes of playing time, Calathes had three steals, two assists and one rebound. He committed three turnovers. Reserve PG Beno Udrih had seven points, one rebound, one assist, one steal and one turnover in 18-plus minutes of action.
-- In the Game 1 loss, Marc Gasol had 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Zach Randolph finished with 20 points, nine boards and five assists, while Tony Allen had 15 points, four boards, three assists and three steals.
-- As of early Monday night, most spots had Golden St. as a 10.5-point home favorite with a total of 196.5. The Grizzlies are +540 on the money line at 5Dimes.
-- Golden St. owns a 27-16-1 spread record at home this year.
-- These teams met three times during the regular season. The Warriors won two of those three contests, but the Grizzlies went 2-1 versus the number.
-- The 'under' is 50-36-2 overall for the Grizzlies, but the 'over' is 22-21-1 in their road assignments.
-- The 'under' is 46-40-1 overall for the Warriors, but they have watched the 'over' go 22-21-1 in their home games.
-- VI's David has this to say about Game 2 with some references to Marc Lawrence's philosophy toward the Zig-Zag Theory. David said, "Based on the eye-ball test, it’s hard to make a case for Memphis at this time just based on the health factor. However, if some of your handicapping relies heavily on trends and betting angles, then I’ll give you a reason to lean Grizzlies in Game 2. According to VI handicapper Marc Lawrence, the ‘Zig-Zag Theory’ sets up strong on Memphis if it closes as a double-digit underdog."
Lawrence said, “Look to back double-digit underdogs when they are off a SU and ATS loss. They’ve stood the test of time, going 33-18-2 ATS since 1991. That’s a pretty high 64.7% winning percentage when you think about it.”
David added, "In this year’s playoffs, the results are 2-0 with Boston and New Orleans losing Game 1 to Cleveland and Golden State, respectively, and rebounding with covers in Game 2 as double-digit ‘dogs."
-- Tip-off is scheduled for 10:35 p.m. Eastern on TNT.
