Game: Brooklyn Nets at Atlanta Hawks
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Odds: Nets +1.5, Hawks -1.5
Total: 224.5
The Nets opened as a small 1.5-point favorite in their game with Atlanta tonight. Brooklyn lost on Wednesday night to Houston, which really wasn’t that big of a surprise since Kevin Durant sat out for the Nets. That loss plus the Hawks being at home could have been what flipped the line in tonight’s game. The Hawks are now a 1.5-point home favorite.
Durant is back tonight for Brooklyn and he and James Harden will be tough to stop. Atlanta’s injury situation will make it even harder for the Hawks to slow down the Nets’ dynamic duo. Deandre Hunter, Cam Reddish, and Bogan Bogdanovic have been out indefinitely for Atlanta. Reddish is listed as probable for tonight, but the other two remain out. Reddish and Hunter are athletic wings that can defend guys like Durant and Harden. With one of them out of the lineup, slowing down the Nets will be difficult.
The Hawks have won just two of their last five games. That comes after a stretch of six wins in seven games. The Hawks beat the likes of Milwaukee, Charlotte, and Memphis all in impressive fashion. In fact, all six wins were impressive. The Hawks won all of those games by double-digit margins.
If you go back 12 games, Atlanta is 8-4 against the spread. More recently though, the Hawks have covered just twice in five games. Brooklyn isn’t much better. The Nets are 1-5 ATS in their last six games. Brooklyn’s only cover in the last five games was a 102-99 win over Dallas on Tuesday night as a 1.5-point favorite. The Nets have not done well against the Hawks either. Brooklyn is just 1-4 ATS in the last five games against Atlanta.
As good as Durant and Harden are, the Nets are only 10th in the NBA in scoring. Durant averages 28.4 points a game and Harden scores 20.9. As a team, the Nets average 109 points per game. As a result, the Under has been trending for Brooklyn. For the season, the Under is 15-10 in Nets games. On the road, the Over/Under is 6-6. The Under has hit in five of Brooklyn’s last six games.
The total has gone Over in six of the Hawks last eight games. That has pushed the Hawks Over/Under record to 13-12 for the season. At home, the Under leads 7-5, but the Over has been the trend when Atlanta plays Brooklyn. The Over is 4-1 in the five games against the Nets.
In their last eight games, the Hawks have faced totals of 222.5, 227, 221.5, and 225. All of those games resulted in the total going Over. This will be the highest total the Nets have faced since a Nov. 27th game against Phoenix. The total was 226 and the final score went Under. The Under has hit in each of the last four Nets games.