NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference - Semifinals
Tip-off: Tuesday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Atlanta -6.5, Total: 198.0

The Hawks look to even up the series with a Game 2 victory over the Wizards in Atlanta Tuesday.

The Wizards made a statement by winning Game 1 104-98 as 5.5-point underdogs in Atlanta on Sunday. Washington trailed 37-26 after the first quarter of that game, but the team rallied back and really clamped down defensively in the second half. The Wizards held the Hawks to just 5-for-28 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter and Atlanta will need to find a way to balance out its shot-making over the course of the game. Despite the loss, the Hawks have still won eight of their past 10 games SU against the Wizards at Philips Arena. Seven straight games played between these teams in Atlanta have gone Over the total. The Wizards are 9-0 ATS in road playoff games over the past two seasons and 12-3 ATS in road games when playing four or less games in 10 days in that time. Atlanta, meanwhile, is 10-0 ATS when revenging two straight losses where an opponent scored 100 or more points this season. Both SG Bradley Beal (Ankle) and PG John Wall (Hand) are probable for Washington in this game and PG Jeff Teague (Ankle) is probable for Atlanta, which is without SG Thabo Sefolosha (Fibula) for the remainder of the year.

The Wizards have taken their game to a new level in these playoffs and a lot of that has to do with them going to a small-ball lineup that features SF Paul Pierce (16.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG in playoffs) at the power forward position. Pierce got hot in Game 1, finishing with 19 points and three rebounds in 31 minutes of action. He’s shooting 51.5% from the outside in the postseason and will need to keep stretching the floor for Washington. PG John Wall (17.4 PPG, 12.6 APG, 4.6 RPG, 1.4 BPG in playoffs) and SG Bradley Beal (22.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.4 SPG in playoffs) both got injured in Game 1, but not before dominating the game from the perimeter. Beal had 28 points and seven rebounds in 40 minutes of action and Wall finished with 18 points, 13 assists, seven boards and three blocks in 39 minutes. Both of them will need to play at a high level in order to steal Game 2, so it is important that they are feeling somewhat healthy heading into Tuesday’s game. C Marcin Gortat (16.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.6 BPG in playoffs) is going to need to be ready to step his game up offensively if Beal or Wall are bothered by their injuries. He had 12 points and 12 boards on 5-for-9 shooting in Game 1 and will need to use his size to his advantage against a much smaller Al Horford the rest of the way.

The Hawks really blew Game 1 with some horrendous play in the second half and they’ll now look to recover and even up the series on Tuesday. SF DeMarre Carroll (18.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG) has been the team’s most consistent performer throughout the postseason. He had 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field and 5-for-9 shooting from behind the arc in Game 1. He plays great two-way basketball and will need to continue to provide toughness for this team. C Al Horford (14.7 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.1 BPG in playoffs) was great in Game 1, putting up 17 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists, one block and one steal in 30 minutes of action. He must, however, stay on the court and avoid foul trouble in this one. He picked up five fouls and had to sit for most of the second half on Sunday. PF Paul Millsap (15.6 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.3 BPG in playoffs) had 15 points, 12 boards, eight assists and two blocks in Game 1. He has been doing it all for the Hawks, but he must finish around the rim. He was just 6-for-17 from the field in the opening game of this series and is capable of doing a lot better than that. PG Jeff Teague (13.7 PPG, 7.7 APG, 1.7 SPG in playoffs) is another guy who is banged up in this series. He twisted his ankle badly in Game 1 and will need to have enough quickness and mobility to stay in front of John Wall on Tuesday. SG Kyle Korver (15.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.4 SPG in playoffs) will be the x-factor in this game. He shot just 3-for-11 from downtown in Game 1 and is at just 37.7% from three in the postseason after shooting 49.2% from the outside in the regular season. He’ll need to find his stroke moving forward.