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The Cleveland Cavaliers will take on the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Cavaliers-Hawks prediction and pick.
This is a hugely important game for the Cavaliers. They've managed to play themselves into the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, but they only have a two-game lead over the eighth-seeded Brooklyn Nets. A loss here would put their status as the seventh seed in serious jeopardy. The Hawks don't have nearly as much at stake here. They've essentially secured the tenth seed and a spot in the play-in tournament. Regardless of the records at play, this should be an interesting contest between two young playoff hopefuls.
Here are the Cavaliers-Hawks NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Cavaliers-Hawks Odds
Cleveland Cavaliers: +5.5 (-106)
Atlanta Hawks: -5.5 (-114)
Over: 230 (-110)
Under: 230 (-110)
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Why The Cavaliers Could Cover The Spread
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While Cleveland's offense hasn't been great this season, they match up well with the Hawks. Atlanta has struggled against teams with strong presences in the paint, allowing the tenth-most points in the paint in the NBA. Cleveland scores a whopping 48 points in the paint per game, one of the better numbers in the league. The Cavaliers' ability to pass the ball well will also play a big part in this one, as the Hawks allow their opponents to rack up nearly 26 assists per game. Cleveland is the tenth-best team in the NBA in terms of assists per game, so this looks like a fairly good matchup for their offense.
The Hawks could be playing this game without a number of important players. Starting forward John Collins is dealing with a long-term injury, while guard Lou Williams has already been ruled out of this game. Key backups Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari are both questionable for this contest as well. That's a huge chunk of important players who may not be able to suit up. Guys like Kevin Knox and Delon Wright will probably be forced to play big minutes here. That's rarely a recipe for success, and that should show here.
Why The Hawks Could Cover The Spread
These teams have already faced each other twice this season, and Atlanta has won both meetings. Star point guard Tre Young has proven himself to be nearly unstoppable in this matchup, dropping a combined 76 points in two games. Young is coming off of a 41-point performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder, so he's clearly got the hot hand as the Hawks come into this game. There's a good chance Young has another monster game on Thursday, and the Hawks have proven that that's all they need to knock off the Cavaliers.
Atlanta isn't the only team dealing with injuries in this contest. Cleveland just announced that rookie sensation Evan Mobley will miss their next three contest with an ankle injury. Backup point guard Rajon Rondo will also sit this one out because of a bad ankle. Mobley averages 15 points and eight rebounds per game while leading the team in blocks, so his absence will be huge on both ends of the floor. Rondo's injury will force the Cavs to scramble their lineups in order to avoid playing guys like Brandon Goodwin in a matchup with a potential playoff opponent. Overall, Cleveland should struggle to play without Mobley and Rondo on both sides of the ball.
Final Cavaliers-Hawks Prediction & Pick
With so many unknowns on their injury report, it's nearly impossible to trust the Hawks here. The Cavaliers don't look particularly appealing either, making the over the best pick on the board. Tre Young will likely generate 30 to 40 points on his own, and the Cavs shouldn't have much trouble scoring on an awful Hawks defense. Book the over.
Final Cavaliers-Hawks Pick: Over: 230 (-110)
