By Anthony McCree II
Yesterday, The Washington Wizards not only won the first game in a race to 4 against the number one seed Atlanta Hawks, but they also made history in the process. The Wizards, became the first team to win four straight game 1's on the road.....in the history of the league....that's right....IN THE HISTORY OF THE LEAGUE! Nobody else has done that, M.J.'s Bulls, Russell's Celtics, Magic's Lakers, etc, etc.....NOBODY ELSE HAS DONE IT!
I just wanted to point that out, it doesn't mean they've won the chip, or they don't have 3 more games to win against a very good team in The Atlanta Hawks, history just had to be noted, because that is very impressive.
The game itself was very good and competitive, Atlanta really came out strong, they had an 11 point lead after 1 qtr, and a ten point lead at the half, DeMarre Carroll was the key for the Hawks in the first half, he scored 21 of his 24 points in the game within the first two quarters.
In the second half, Washington locked in on the defensive end, holding Atlanta to only 25 percent shooting in the final half and 35 points total, while also nearly matching their point total from the first half (51) with their scoring in the second (53). They were the more consistent team on offense for the game.
Key Players
John Wall and Bradley Beal
John Wall, was the MVP of the game for Washington, He scored 18 points, had 13 assist, 3 blocks and 1 steal, and he clearly lead the Wizards and was key factor in helping them control the pace of the game in the second half.
Bradley Beal, scored 28 points, grabbed 7 boards, and was much better on the defensive end in this game 1 than he was in the opening game against Toronto, he stayed glued to the Hawks sharp shooter Kyle Korver and was not easily deterred by Atlanta's screens that they often use to help get Korver open looks...He did sustain an ankle sprain in the fourth qtr, his health will be key for The Wizards the rest of the way.
Beal is expected to play, but if cannot go in game 2 on Tuesday , Washington does have Garret Temple, who would most likely fill in the starting lineup, he played well in the role when filling in for Beal during the regular season.
X- Factors
Otto Porter and Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce, once again, did a great job playing both the small forward and power forward positions, he scored 19 points in the game, and remained a threat from 3 point range through the whole contest, He also matches up well with most the players that Atlanta plays at the 4 spot, because they often play players who are "stretch 4's" who can spread the floor, that's a tough match for a traditional Power Forward like NeNe Hilario.
Otto Porter, had another strong showing this post season, He's appeared to have taken a step forward this post season, averaging 9.6 points, 8 rebounds, and shooting 43 percent from 3 in the playoffs. He did well yesterday, and hit those averages, he scored 10 points, had 11 rebounds, and is playing very well on the defensive end.
Defending the Arc
The Hawks offensive philosophy is greatly centered around the three-point shot, they came into yesterday's game leading all playoff teams in three-pointers attempted per game. Atlanta hasn't shot less than 30 three pointers in any playoff game so far and yesterday was no different, they shot the 3 ball 38 times, making 13, that's 34.2 Percent, for the Wizards to win this series, they need to continue to force Atlanta to miss at a similar rate, if The Hawks shoot within the high 30's or 40's in terms of percentage, they are much harder to beat.
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