Warriors vs. Wizards Point Spread at Golden State -7
The Warriors vs. Wizards point spread has opened at Golden State -7 after some initial hesitation from oddsmakers overnight.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (43-10) at WASHINGTON WIZARDS (33-23)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Golden State -7, Total: 205.5
The Golden State Warriors take their league-best record into the capitol city as they face-off against the Washington Wizards tonight.
The NBA has rolled over against the impressive Warriors this year and they come into this game as SU victors in seven of their last nine games (4-5 ATS). There were some very close contests in that mix as they have failed to cover in three of their past four victories, winning by 8.3 PPG in the contests. They took a very surprising and tough loss on Sunday against the Pacers as they went into the game being 4-point favorites on the road only to come away with a 104-98 defeat. Golden State’s offense shot a putrid 38.2% in the loss as it allowed Indiana to hit plenty of shots (39-of-81, 48% FG) in the first of six straight East Coast road games.
Washington had a tremendous start to the year, but has really fallen on hard times with losses in eight of its past 10 games (3-7 ATS). They have scored in triple-digits just twice over the stretch as they average 96.6 PPG and have lost four times when being considered the favorite. Their nasty stretch continued in Detroit on Sunday in an embarrassing 106-89 defeat as they were giving two points in the game. The matchup was lost at the charity stripe and from behind the arc as the Pistons made 13-of-32 three-pointers and dropped in 19-of-25 shots from the foul line in all, leading to 58 points from the two spots compared to a meager 27 from the Wizards.
This road trip could cause some headaches for the Warriors as they have recorded eight of their 10 losses when away from home and hold an overall record of 19-8 SU (13-13-1 ATS) in those contests. Meanwhile, Washington will look to improve on a solid 20-9 SU mark (13-15-1 ATS) in front of its hometown crowd. These clubs have yet to meet this year, but they split two games against each other last year with the away team winning SU and ATS in each instance. The last time they met was very ugly as each offensive unit shot worse than 38% from the field while the teams combined for 37 turnovers in what ended as an 88-85 win by the Wizards as eight-point road ‘dogs. Previous to that, Golden State had won its last six matchups against Washington, winning by an average of 10.5 PPG.
Bettors have hit gold when the Warriors play four or fewer games in 10 days as they are 38-20 ATS (66%) in those situations over the last three seasons and they will be going against a Wizards group which is 43-34 ATS (56%) in all non-conference contests in the same span. A sharpshooter from each side may miss this one as PG Stephen Curry (Ankle) is listed as questionable for Golden State and SG Bradley Beal (Leg) is out indefinitely on Washington’s side of the rock.
There has been no denying that the Warriors have had the best offense in the league this year as they are scoring 110.3 PPG (best in league) on 47.9% shooting (best in league). They also continue to be a force from behind the arc, making 10.5 threes per game (2nd in league) behind 38.6% shooting from long range (best in league). The defense has been solid as well, allowing 99.7 PPG with the opposition making just 42.4% of their shots (best in league).
PG Stephen Curry (23.6 PPG, 7.9 APG, 4.7 RPG, 2.2 SPG) is having an MVP caliber year and looked great (25 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals) in the first game following the All-Star break. He missed the contest against Indiana in the team’s last game and he will hope to improve on his 18.5 PPG (33% FG) and 7.0 APG that he averaged in two meetings with the Wizards last year if on the court Tuesday.
SG Klay Thompson (22.4 PPG, 1.2 SPG, 44% 3PM) had a monster performance (39 points) with Curry out in the loss to the Pacers as he connected on all 10 of his free throw attempts. He was solid (19.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 50% 3PM) in the two games against this opponent last year.
SF Draymond Green (11.0 RPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 1.4 RPG) continues to show an impressive all-around game, but has seen a decline in his offense as he’s made a mere 8-of-29 shots (28% FG) over his past four performances (6.0 PPG). He had minimal playing time (12.5 MPG) when these clubs faced off twice last year and put up just 5.5 PPG with 2.0 RPG.
The Wizards aren’t one of the league’s elite offenses as evidenced by their 99.3 PPG (11th-worst in league) despite some very solid shooting (47% FG, 3rd in league). Their defense has looked solid throughout the year and has given up 98.0 PPG (10th in league) at a 43.7% shooting clip (6th in league).
PG John Wall (17.3 PPG, 10.1 APG, 4.4 RPG, 1.8 SPG) has seen his numbers dip slightly over the team’s most recent three-game losing streak as he has gone for 15.7 PPG and 9.7 APG. He will need to improve on his showing in two games last year against this team when he averaged 14.5 PPG (33% FG) to go with 7.5 APG and 3.0 SPG.
C Marcin Gortat (11.7 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.3 BPG) has not been as much of a force this year as he was in the 2013-14 campaign, but is coming off a solid game (24 points, 10 rebounds) against Detroit. He struggled against the Warriors in the couple of games last season with 9.0 PPG (41% FG) and 9.0 RPG.
SF Paul Pierce (12.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG) has not done much to take over the missing production from Beal’s absence and has netted only 8.4 PPG in his last five games. He did play some very solid games against Golden State last year, though, scoring 15.3 PPG (58% FG) with 6.7 RPG over three games (2 starts) as a member of the Nets.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
