Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers - 12/31/21 NBA Picks and Prediction
Photo by David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland Cavaliers (20-14) vs Atlanta Hawks (15-19)
Game Info: Friday, December 31, 2021 at 7:30 pm (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse)
Betting Odds: Cleveland Cavaliers -1.5 -- Over/Under: Click Here for the Latest Odds
The Atlanta Hawks travel to the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
The Atlanta Hawks have been in a real slump lately as they’ve lost nine of their past 12 games and they will be hoping to arrest a three-game skid after getting routed by the Bulls in a 131-117 road loss on Wednesday. Trae Young led the team with 26 points and 11 assists, Clint Capela added 18 points with 15 rebounds while Chaundee Brown Jr. chipped in with 16 points. As a team, the Hawks shot 47 percent from the field and 11 of 26 from the 3-point line as they took control of the game in the second quarter where they held the Hawks to just 17 points to take a 21-point lead into halftime, before cruising in the second half where they pushed the lead to 27 points.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been in a bit of a rut as they’ve lost three of their past four games overall and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after getting thrashed by the Wizards in a 110-93 road loss last night. Kevin Love led the team in scoring with 24 points and 11 rebounds, Evan Mobley added 21 points while Lauri Markkanen and Isaac Okoro each scored 11 points, but no other player scored more than eight points. As a team, the Cavaliers shot 42 percent from the field and eight of 28 from the 3-point line as they struggled to keep up with the Wizards and fell behind by eight points going into halftime and things only got worse in the third quarter where the deficit ballooned to 21 points.
Looking at the betting trends, the Hawks are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 games against a team with a winning record, 6-2 ATS in their last eight road games and 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall. The Cavaliers are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 home games and 22-6 ATS in their last 28 games overall.
Head to head, the under is 5-0 in the last five meetings overall, the Hawks are 0-5 ATS in the last five meetings in Cleveland and the Hawks are 1-7 ATS in the last eight meetings overall.
The Hawks have been in terrible shape lately and they will be severely shorthanded once again as a host of players including Kevin Huerter, Delon Wright, Bojan Bogdanovic and Gorgui Dieng are all listed as out, while the Cavaliers will again be without Darius Garland, Ricky Rubio and Jarrett Allen. The Hawks are in poor form, but they really need a win to get their season back on track and I think they can steal a win here behind a big game from Young.
Peter’s Pick Atlanta +1.5
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
Mitch's Take...
