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Washington Wizards G Spencer Dinwiddie and C Daniel Gafford have both been ruled out for Thursday night’s game vs. the Atlanta Hawks. Dinwiddie will get the second end of a back-to-back off to rest. Gafford was injured in Wednesday night’s win over the Boston Celtics, exiting the game due to a quad injury.
The Wizards entered tonight as 2.5-point underdogs on the spread. The Hawks are favored despite being on the road and on the second night of a back-to-back. ATL beat the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. The O/U was set at 222.5 before the Dinwiddie news. That number may decrease a bit as a result.
Fantasy basketball analysis
The Wizards are ripe for value and have a bunch of strong tournament plays tonight. Bradley Beal ($9,200) is going to be a very popular GPP play given the amount of usage he’ll soak up with Dinwiddie out. Kyle Kuzma ($6,200) and Montrezl Harrell ($5,300) are also strong tourney options and Harrell is even a decent cash play with Gafford out. The Hawks have a tough interior anchored by John Collins and Clint Capela. Still, they are a bit undersized, so Harrell should be able to return value.
Betting analysis
If you can snag the Hawks on the spread with no Dinwiddie, it’s not a bad move. This game should still be close despite the Wizards being down a few bodies. Gafford missed time against the Celtics last night and Washington was able to take down a tough Boston team. Most of the action was on the under 222.5 points before this news. With the news, we’ll see the total potential drop a bit, but no more than a few points. The Hawks are -3 on the spread after Dinwiddie, which seems odd. A starter should move the needle a bit more than that. Perhaps it’s a trap? Either way, Beal will need to step up, so go look at his player props market.