The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks duke it out at the State Farm Arena on Friday night.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been in pretty good form as they’ve won eight of their last 11 games overall, but they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat in this one after falling just short to the Nuggets in a 115-109 loss last night. Evan Mobley led the team with 31 points on 12 of 19 shooting, Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell each scored 22 points while Jarrett Allen chipped in with 14 points and 13 rebounds. As a team, the Cavaliers shot 47 percent from the field and six of 26 from the 3-point line as they worked their way back from an early 10-point deficit to take the lead in the third quarter, but they couldn’t find their offense when it mattered most as they managed just 18 points in the fourth quarter to allow the Nuggets off the hook in the end.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks have ben in a bit of a rut as they’ve lost six of their last 10 games overall and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after getting thrashed by the Knicks in a 122-101 loss last Wednesday. De’Andre Hunter led the team with 20 points on nine of 15 shooting, Trae Young added 19 points with 11 assists and four steals while AJ Griffin chipped in with 12 points. As a team, the Hawks shot 41 percent from the field and just five of 26 from the 3-point line as they struggled to match the intensity of the Knicks from the start and they were always fighting an uphill battle after getting outscored by 66-44 in the first half.
Looking at the betting trends, the Cavaliers are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games overall. The Hawks are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 Friday games and 0-5 ATS in their last five games playing on three or more days rest.
Head to head, the over is 31-15 in the last 46 meetings overall.
The Cavaliers could be shorthanded again with Ricky Rubio listed as questionable, while the Hawks are keeping an eye on John Collins who is currently listed as out. The Cavaliers are playing their second game of a back to back set which is always a challenge, but they are clearly the hotter team at the moment and they are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record. This should be a close one, but in the end I have the Cavaliers getting the win on the road.
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
