The Atlanta Hawks make the trip to the Barclays Center where they take on the Brooklyn Nets.
Atlanta bounced back from a two-game losing streak by beating the Washington Wizards 118-111 at their home floor on Monday night. With the win, the Hawks improve to 4-3 on the season and they are in 4th place in the Southeast Division, two games behind the division-leading Miami Heat.
Brooklyn meanwhile, is 4-3 on the year and they have won three out of their last four games after a 1-2 start. Life has not been easy without Kyrie Irving but Brooklyn has learned how to win by playing good defense. The Nets are 4th in the Atlantic Division standings but are just one game behind the current leaders New York Knicks.
Trae Young scored 29 points while Clint Capela had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Hawks to victory against the Wizards last Monday. Cam Reddish added 15 off the bench and the Hawks shot 29-29 from the foul line including 11-11 by Young.
Ice Trae leads the Hawks in scoring and passing at 22.9 points and 9.4 assists per game. John Collins is adding 15.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game while having a team-best player efficiency rating of 26.4. Meanwhile, Capela has been their defensive anchor at 10.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game while also scoring 9.9 points per game.
Atlanta ranks 2nd in the league in rebounding at 50.3 rebounds per game and they are tied for 9th in passing at 24.3 assists per game. However, the Hawks are just 17th in scoring at 107.9 points per game this season.
James Harden recorded the 59th triple double of his career with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists to lead the Nets to a win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. Kevin Durant scored 23 points before he was ejected in the third quarter. LaMarcus Aldridge added 16 points off the bench while De’Andre Bembry contributed15 points in the victory.
Kevin Durant leads the Nets in scoring and rebounding at 27.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game this season. James Harden is averaging 18.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game for Brooklyn. LaMarcus Aldridge is contributing 12.7 points and 1.2 blocks per contest.
The Nets are scoring just 104.0 points per game this season which is ranked 20th in the entire league. Brooklyn is also 14th in rebounding at 46.0 boards grabbed per contest and is 21st in passing at 22.4 assists per game this season.
The Hawks are 1-2 SU in their last three games played. Atlanta is 1-3 SU in four road games played so far this season. The Nets are 4-2 SU in their last six games played. Brooklyn is 3-2 SU in five home games played this season.
Head to head, the Nets have won eight out of their last 10 meetings against the Atlanta Hawks. Brooklyn is also 5-1 SU in their last six home games against Atlanta.
The Nets have shown signs that they are putting things together without Kyrie Irving. Without a 20-point score and an excellent playmaker, the Nets have focused on defense and they have not allowed more than 109 points this season and have held three out of their last four opponents to below 100 points, winning all three games.
John Collins is questionable while Bogdan Bogdanovic is listed as probable for the Hawks who are already without Onyeka Okongwu.
I like the Nets defense to make the difference here. Give me Brooklyn to take care of business at home.
Prediction: Brooklyn Nets
Atlanta is 4-8 ATS in their last 12 games played. The Hawks are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games when playing on one day rest, 2-5 ATS in their last seven games played against an opponent with a winning straight up record, and 1-4 ATS in their last five games after an ATS win.
They are also 1-5 ATS in their last six games after a straight up win, 0-4 ATS in their last four games when scoring 100 or more points in their previous game, and 0-6 ATS in their last six games played on the road.
Brooklyn is 9-2 ATS in their last 11 home games against an opponent with a losing road record. The Nets are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games after a straight up win of more than 10 points, 6-2 ATS in their last eight games when playing on two days rest, and 14-5 ATS in their last 19 games after scoring 100 or more points in their previous game.
They are also 14-5 ATS in their last 19 home games and 13-5 ATS in their last 18 games when their opponent scores 100 or more points in their previous game.
Head to head, the Hawks are 4-0 ATS in their last four games played against the Nets.
The Nets have learned to win without Kyrie Irving and they have done that by playing good defense. Brooklyn ranks 11th in the league in points allowed per game and their offense is in good hands with Durant and Harden combining for 44.2% of their scoring average at 46.3 points per game.
The Hawks have struggled to cover the spread away from home, going 0-6 ATS in their last six road games. Atlanta hasn’t really returned to the form that took them to the East Finals last season.
Both teams have shown good defense this season but I’m more impressed with the Nets’ defensive effort this year.
Prediction: Nets -5.5
The total has gone under in four out of the seven games played by the Hawks this season. The under is also 3-1 in Atlanta’s four road games played this season, 4-1 in their last five Wednesday games, 4-1 in their last five games after an ATS win, and 14-4 in their last 18 games after allowing more than 100 points in their previous game.
The under is also 13-5 in their last 18 games after a straight up win, 10-4 in their last 14 games when playing on one day rest, 10-4 in their last 14 road games, and 19-9 in their last 28 games played overall.
The total has gone under in each of the last seven games played by the Nets. The under is 5-0 in their last five games played at home, 8-0 in their last eight games after an ATS win, 9-0 in their last nine games after a straight up win, and 4-0 in their last four games after a straight up win of more than 10 points.
The under is also 9-3 in the Nets last 12 days when playing on 2 days rest, 4-0 in their last four home games against an opponent with a losing road record, and 10-1 in their last 11 games when their opponent allows more than 100 points in their previous game.
This game has plenty of explosive scorers but if you check their season totals, the Hawks have combined with its opponents for 214.5 points per game this season while the Nets and their foes have combined for an ever lower 209.2 PPG.
The Hawks are also just 17th in the league in scoring at 107.9 points per game while the Nets are even ranked lower at 20th with their 104.6 points per game scoring average and have scored 105 or less in five of seven games played this season. There’s a chance that Trae, KD, and Beard explode at the same time but based on what we’ve seen so far, that’s unlikely.
Prediction: Under 219
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