Welcome to the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs in the Eastern Conference as the top seed Atlanta Hawks host the 5th seed Washington Wizards. The Hawks are coming off a tough 6 game series against the veteran Brooklyn Nets, while the Wizards are coming off a 4 game sweep of the Toronto Raptors.
The Atlanta Hawks played mediocre the last 20 to 25 games since they ran away with the Eastern Conference and struggled against the Nets also. The Hawks finally played their brand of basketball in Game 6 in Brooklyn and will need to continue that if they can get past the Wizards. Can the Hawks rebound from a tough series and quick turnaround to stop the red hot Wizards? On the other hand, the Washington Wizards looked great against the Raptors and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wizards advance to their 2nd consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. John Wall has been distributing the ball, Beal has played great, the big men down low has controlled things and the veteran presence of Paul Pierce have helped this team tremendously. This is a tough series to pick and will be one that will go under the radar with the Cavs/Bulls getting all the attention, but this could be equally as good. In the end, I think this series will go 7 games with the Wizards taking Game 1 probably, but I think the Hawks will squeak by the Wizards and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Atlanta Hawks Win Series 4-3
