Cavaliers vs. Hawks Prediction
After completely altering their roster, will the Cleveland Cavaliers be able to go on the road and pick up a win over the struggling Atlanta Hawks at 7:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, the Cavs are the slight favorite on the road, as Cleveland is getting odds of -1.5 points against the Hawks. The over/under total for the game is listed at 214.5 points. Cleveland has won two straight meetings with the Hawks, including two of the three meetings this year. However, Atlanta has covered in five straight encounters. Tonight’s game will take place from Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Cavs made numerous trades on Thursday and its unclear which of the players form the trade will be available. Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood and George Hill were all traded for while most of the roster on Thursday was sent away. Kevin Love is already out with a finger injury. Cleveland is currently 31-22 overall, 11-15 on the road and 15-37-1 against the spread. LeBron James is averaging 26.5 points, 8 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game, but he will be severely short-handed tonight.
Atlanta is coming off a 100-98 loss at Orlando, which snapped a two-game win streak. The Hawks are now 17-38 overall, 12-16 at home and 28-25-2 against the spread. Atlanta is averaging 103.7 points per game this season while allowing 107.7 per contest. Dennis Schroder has been leading the team with 19.4 points and 6.4 assists per game while Kent Bazemore is adding 13 points per contest.
It’s hard to know what to expect from the Cavs tonight. They won’t have much of a roster and even if some of the pieces they traded for will be available, they will have no team chemistry. However, the spread is very small. It’s basically a straight-up pick. Atlanta has nothing to play for these days while LeBron could be energized by all the trades. His pride should show itself tonight as he leads the Cavs to a win over a very poor team. The public betting is heavily backing Cleveland as well.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: CLEVELAND CAVALIERS -1.5