Rest will be a factor in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. The Washington Wizards have been off for almost a week after sweeping the Toronto Raptors in the first round while the Atlanta Hawks have had just one day of rest after beating the Brooklyn Nets in Game 6. The Wizards are playing their best basketball of the year right now while the Hawks began showing signs of life in their last two games which could make this series interesting.
Atlanta appears to be getting into form after struggling through the last weeks of the regular season and the first few games of the playoffs. The team ended their six-game run against the Nets with a 111.-87 blowout win on the road. It was the Hawks first playoff series win since 2011. Jeff Teague was looking like his old self, being a court general in the last two games. He put up 20 points in Game 5 while having 13 assists to start Game 6. Kyle Korver returned to his 3-point shooting ways while DeMarre Carroll proved to be the MVP of the series averaging 17.7 points per game and going 14 of 30 from long range.
The Hawks came into the playoffs with injury issues. Paul Millsap and Al Horford have been dealing with various issues. The Hawks bench has been getting a lot of work in lately as depth is an issues. Dennis Schroder has proved to be a quality point guard. Kent Bazemore has been strong on defense while Pero Antic and Mike Scott have been handling outside shooting. They will all be critical against the Wizards.
Washington has a lot of confidence at the moment. The team is coming off a big series against the Raptors where they were in control the entire time. Despite finishing 14 games behind the Hawks, the Wizards believe they are the team to beat right now and will make sure to prove that point. Washington is hoping size is in their favor. Horford and Millsap struggled against Brook Lopez and the Wizards are hoping the same is said for Marcin Gortat and Nene. They could very easily expose Atlanta's lack of rebounding early.
Both teams are battling for a chance to face the Cleveland Cavaliers or Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals. The Wizards are well rested and ready to play, but the Hawks are coming off finally getting their rhythm back which they hope helps in their favor.