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Russell Westbrook, Anthony Gill and The Centers™ were enough for the Wizards to coast to a 15-point victory over a bad Cleveland Cavaliers, and secure a spot in the NBA’s play-in tournament. The Wizards could get as high as the 8th seed if they win Sunday night and other stuff happens.
Westbrook continued his torrid play with 21 points, 12 rebounds, 17 assists, 3 steals and just 1 turnover. His shooting for the game was a subpar .417 effective field goal percentage, and he
still posted an outstanding 121 offensive rating (points produced per individual possession x 100).
Scott Brooks’ hydra center rotation draws mockery, but it seems to work. According to my PPA metric, the Wizards had five players produce at an above average rate (per possession) last night: Westbrook, Gill, Daniel Gafford, Robin Lopez and Alex Len.
The weird, wild and entertaining Russell Westbrook, part II
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With Russell Westbrook becoming the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles, it’s fitting that he deserves top billing in this updated statistical evaluation. The Wizards went 5-3 since the last one with wins against the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers (x2), and losses to the Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks.
As you’ll in the table below, most of the rotation maintained their general level of production. Bradley Beal fluctuated within norms as did most of the rotation. The guys with noteworthy changes: Westbrook (+10 on his full-season PPA over the past 8 games), Daniel Gafford (-9), Raul Neto (+6) and Davis Bertans (-7).
Wizards vs. Hawks NBA Prediction
The Wizards have won seven of their last 10 games but are a 7.5-point road underdog in Atlanta on Monday night when they take on the Hawks at 7:30 p.m. ET. Will the Wizards cover or is there a better play tonight?
Game Snapshot
7:30 p.m. ET, Monday, May 10, 2021
Venue: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
TV: NBATV
Washington Wizards DFS Spin
Bradley Beal (mild left hamstring strain) won t play vs. the Hawks on Monday. Beal tweaked his hamstring at the end of Saturday s game, in which he dropped 50 points, and it ll cost him a minimum of one game. Fortunately, an MRI revealed the minor strain and he s day-to-day. Hamstring injuries often demand rest, but the Wizards are also balancing their pursuit of the No. 8 seed (currently 1.5 games behind the Hornets). After Monday, the Wizards will have three games left in the regular season. They will see these same Hawks on Wednesday before heading home to play Cleveland and Charlotte to end the regular seas
Wizards fall short against the Bucks
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It’s okay. The Milwaukee Bucks are a title contender and one of the best teams in the NBA. They have an elite player in Giannis Antetokounmpo (whose name I just spelled correctly without having to look it up for the first time ever), two excellent “second star” types (Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton), and a bunch of solid pros who are productive and know how to play.
Missing Middleton basically evened things up a bit with the Wizards over the past month, the Wizards have had an elite performer on many nights in Russell Westbrook, an excellent “second star” in Bradley Beal, and then a grab-bag of different guys on different nights doing the supporting cast thing.