Washington Wizards 2017 NBA Playoffs Mailbag: How the Wizards Could Continue Dominating the Atlanta Hawks
By Ben Mehic
Washington Wizards are coming off a dominant win over the Atlanta Hawks, but they must build on the momentum to close out the series.
It’s impossible to come out unscathed in the NBA Playoffs, but the Washington Wizards were pretty close in their Game-1 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
The win wasn’t perfect. There were periods when the Wizards just couldn’t make a shot, causing their offense to stagnate and the Hawks took advantage.
Jason Smith and Kelly Oubre got banged up, but were able to bounce back and practice on Tuesday.
Scoring droughts and minor injuries are going to happen in that environment. But, even with that, the Wizards got a decisive win at home, which could potentially give them necessary momentum for the rest of the postseason.
John Wall set a playoff career-high 32 points and controlled the game with his passing, totaling 14 assists. Markieff Morris raised the entire team’s energy by setting the tempo early on, not allowing Paul Millsap to find his rhythm. Marcin Gortat, in similar fashion, provided a spark with a few highlight-worthy dunks.
For a playoff win, Scott Brooks couldn’t have asked for much more.
The series, though, is a long one. Washington will play another one at home on Wednesday before hitting the road to Atlanta for Game-3.
For this edition of Mailbag
Monday
, we’ll focus on Game-1 and the first round series.