Injuries Galore
Only two games remain for the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks. They don’t have many starters left, either.
The Hawks look to end a 12-game road losing streak when they face the Bucks on Monday night in a matchup of teams that have been ravaged by injuries.
Oddsmakers have made Milwaukee -5.5 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for todays game, the over/under has been set at 204.5 total points (View NBA Sports Books). Our public betting information shows that 67% of bets for this game have been placed on Milwaukee -5.5 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
It’s been a terrible season for Atlanta (29-51) and Milwaukee (27-53), and injuries are partially to blame.
Before a 110-76 loss at Cleveland on Saturday night, the Hawks announced forward Joe Johnson and guard Speedy Claxton will sit out the rest of the way.
Johnson, the team’s leading scorer, has missed 19 straight games because of a bruised right calf. Johnson averaged 25.0 points, 4.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds.
Claxton, the Hawks’ assists leader, has missed 33 games with a sore left knee. The veteran point guard signed with Atlanta as a free agent in September after playing last season with New Orleans.
The Hawks were already without Josh Childress (broken foot), and forward Zaza Pachulia (lower right leg) and guard Salim Stoudamire (sprained ankle) are both nursing injuries.
"We’ve had so many injuries that we haven’t been able to put anything consistently together," Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. "We have no chemistry at all because of the injuries. Until we can get healthy bodies back, it’s going to be a struggle."
This is the Hawks’ final game on the road, where they have lost 12 in a row since beating the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 14. They’re averaging 88.4 points while allowing 104.4 during their longest road losing streak since dropping 23 in a row from Dec. 15, 2004-March 9, 2005.
Josh Smith had a team-high 23 points Saturday for Atlanta, which has lost 12 of 15 overall. Smith is averaging 21.0 points in his last nine games.
The Hawks end their season Tuesday night against Indiana.
The Bucks have been shorthanded for most of their games due to season-ending injuries that cost them Bobby Simmons, Andrew Bogut, Charlie Villanueva and leading scorer Michael Redd. Forward Brian Skinner also hasn’t played since April 3 because of an inner ear infection.
Milwaukee lost 113-92 to Charlotte on Saturday night despite having six players score in double figures.
The Bucks won their first two games under new coach Larry Krystkowiak last month, but have since gone 2-12 while allowing 109.4 points per game.
Mo Williams scored 16 points to lead Milwaukee on Saturday, and Dan Gadzuric had 14 points with a team-high 14 rebounds. Gadzuric is averaging 17.7 points and 12.6 boards in his last three games.
The Bucks conclude their season Wednesday night at Cleveland.
Milwaukee and Atlanta have split two games this season. Smith had 28 points and a career-high 18 rebounds to lead the Hawks to a 115-102 win over the Bucks on April 6 in the teams’ last meeting.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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