The Daily Sweat: Hawks try to salvage season as NBA play-in tournament continues
The fairy tale in sports is that when a team in any sport gets close to a title and loses, it comes back stronger the next season and takes the next step forward. That repeats until it wins a championship.
The Atlanta Hawks didn't take a step forward. They had a great run last year with a young team, getting to the Eastern Conference finals and giving the Milwaukee Bucks a tough time before Trae Young got hurt stepping on an official and the Bucks won in six. Still, it seemed the Hawks could come back and be a contender.
Atlanta just wasn't very good all season. Injuries didn't help. The Hawks ended up 43-39 and with the No. 9 seed in the East and have to get to the playoff bracket through the play-in tournament. The loser of Hornets-Hawks goes home, and the winner faces the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday with the No. 8 seed in the bracket on the line.
There's still chance for the Hawks to have a nice postseason and it starts Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets. The Hawks are a 5.5-point favorite at BetMGM.
The Hawks did play better late in the season, covering the spread in seven of their last nine games. The Hornets were up-and-down most of the season but they were 12 games over .500 vs. the spread this season, the fourth-best record in the NBA. The Hornets will be without Gordon Hayward, who averaged 15.9 points per game this season. Hayward has a foot injury.
The Hornets look like they're a team on the rise, trying to take a big step this season by winning a couple games to make the postseason bracket. The Hawks thought they had already passed having to worry about that type of milestone after last season's playoff run.
Here's the first look at the sports betting slate for Wednesday:
Spurs-Pelicans square off
The West's play-in game doesn't have quite the same pop, but it still has intrigue. The San Antonio Spurs travel to face the New Orleans Pelicans, with the winner moving on to face the Los Angeles Clippers in an elimination game. The Pelicans are a 5.5-point favorite at BetMGM.
The Pelicans played better late in the season, winning eight of 11 before dropping their final two regular-season games. The Spurs had a similar finish, winning seven of eight before a three-game losing streak to end the season.
I'll go with the Pelicans, though its hard to trust either team. Either one will be a significant underdog against the Clippers on Friday night.
More day baseball
The beauty of April is all the MLB teams squeezing in afternoon games to be as warm as possible. It's great for bettors who want to pass the day with some action.
On Wednesday there are nine early starts, including three that start before 1 p.m. Eastern. Not bad. The best game among the early ones is the New York Mets at the Philadelphia Phillies. It's a great pitching matchup between Max Scherzer and Aaron Nola. The Phillies are a -115 favorite and that's a little surprising because Scherzer is rarely an underdog.
The best game for the rest of the afternoon is the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, who have split their first two games. The Giants are -135 favorites. In the evening, the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees face off again after splitting their first two, with the Yankees as a hefty -165 favorite with Gerrit Cole on the mound against Jose Berrios.
What else is on the schedule?
There are a couple of Champions League soccer matches, and Yahoo Sportsbook's Nick Bromberg has your previews for them. There are also three NHL games on Wednesday night as the latter portion of the season drags on before the playoffs begin.
What's the best bet?
I'll ride with the Hornets, who can keep things close against the Hawks even if they don't win. I'll also take a couple baseball bets on the Mets and Max Scherzer as a slight favorite and the Blue Jays catching a pretty big number.