Hawks vs. Cavaliers Odds
| Hawks Odds | +2.5 |
| Cavaliers Odds | -2.5 |
| Over/Under | 224 |
| Time | 7 p.m. ET |
| TV | NBA League Pass |
| Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute NBA odds here. | |
The Atlanta Hawks will travel to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers.
Atlanta enters this matchup with a 10-6 record, good for third place in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland is also 10-6 after a huge 26-point win over the Heat on Sunday night.
This is the Cavaliers second game in two days, which, along with some injuries, will be something to consider in this matchup. Will Cleveland be able to overcome those obstacles, or will we see the Hawks pick up their 11th win of the season?
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks got their season started by winning seven of their first 10 games, a stretch of time in which the Hawks looked like they had enough talent to contend for the Eastern Conference title.
However, Atlanta has since stepped off the gas pedal, going 3-3 over its past six games and looking like a team with some flaws.
In that six-game stretch, the Hawks posted an Offensive Rating of 108.0, a which ranks 25th in the NBA in that timeframe. That is down from Atlanta's 113.2 rating from the first 10 games, and shows that the Hawks have hit a wall on the offensive end of the floor.
Atlanta's biggest issue is its inability to stretch the floor and be consistent from deep, which is the main reason why we have seen the Hawks struggle on offense. The Hawks are shooting just 31.9% from behind the arc and that percentage has dropped to 26.5% in the past six games.
Inefficiencies from the outside have caused the Hawks to become a predictable offense, one that doesn't pose much of a shooting threat to opponents.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The past two weeks have been a rough patch for the Cavaliers. Injuries to star players Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen caused Cleveland to lose five straight games from November 7-16.
However, both Mitchell and Allen are back on the floor and fully healthy. Expectedly, that's been a massive help for a team that was struggling on both ends of the floor.
The biggest improvements have been seen on the defensive end of the floor, as having Allen back in the lineup gives Cleveland a massive presence in the paint. During Cleveland's five-game losing streak, the Cavaliers posted a Defensive Rating of 122.0, the worst rating in the NBA during that stretch. However, in their past two games, we have seen their Defensive Rating improve to 99.5, a sign Cleveland's issues on that end of the floor have been corrected.
Additionally, Cleveland has held opponents to 39.5% shooting from the floor and 26.7% from behind the arc during its two-game win streak. That has allowed the Cavaliers to have a point differential of +36 in that span.
Cleveland is still dealing with some injuries, most notably to Kevin Love and Caris LeVert, but the Cavaliers appear to have gotten back on track, even with those guys missing some time.
Hawks-Cavaliers Pick
Even with the back-to-back scenario in play for the Cavaliers, I think this is a good spot to back Cleveland on its home court.
Sunday night's victory over Miami was a walk in the park for Cleveland and, as a result, many of its stars didn't play many minutes. Evan Mobley was the only starter to see 30 minutes of action, so Cleveland likely won't experience as much fatigue as teams normally do when playing two nights in a row.
Furthermore, Atlanta's inability to shoot from behind the arc plays right into Cleveland's favor as the Cavs have been great at defending the perimeter in their past few games. On the offensive end, the Cavaliers have the second-best three-point percentage in the NBA (39.1%) and should be able to create some scoring separation.
Back the Cavaliers to win outright at home.
Pick: Cavaliers Moneyline |
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