Clippers vs. Hawks Prediction
Are the Clippers a poor bet to cover the spread tonight in Atlanta against the Hawks at 7:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetDSI, the Hawks are 7.5-point home favorites versus the Clippers after opening as a 6.5-point fave. As for the total, the number hit the board at 205 but has been bet up to 206.5.
The Clippers have now lost back-to-back games, dropping a 104-101 game at home to the Timberwolves and a 123-98 deficit at the Nuggets on Saturday. The team is feeling the effects of not having Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, who will not play tonight against the Hawks. He might return on Saturday when the Clippers play the Warriors, but it’ll be a couple more games before the team gets one of its stars back.
The Hawks have won two in a row and four of their last five games, with their only loss coming at Detroit when they fell 118-95 to the Pistons. Mike Muscala (ankle) and Tiago Splitter (calf) will not play for the Clippers tonight. Muscala will miss his fifth game in a row while Splitter was given a six-week timetable back in November and has proven to be a slow healer.
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OUR PREDICTION: The Clippers have been a horrible bet in Atlanta, covering just once in their last five road games versus the Hawks. Los Angeles is also just 1-6 against the spread in its last seven games overall versus Atlanta and has failed to cover in eight of its last nine road games as well. The Hawks, meanwhile, are 5-1 at the betting window in their last six home games, are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games against the Western Conference, and have covered in nine of their last 12 games overall.
MONDAY NBA PREDICTION: ATLANTA HAWKS -7.5