We have an East vs. West showdown in Rip City tonight as the Atlanta Hawks pay a visit to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Atlanta (16-19) was able to stop the bleeding over the holidays on Friday by picking up a 121-118 New Year’s Eve victory over the Cavaliers. Trae Young returned to form in this game by dropping 35 points and 11 assists in the win. Clint Capela also came up big with 18 points and 23 rebounds.
Portland (13-22) has been having a rough time as of late as it has lost four straight games and eight of its last 10. The latest indignity came in the form of a 139-106 blowout loss at the Lakers on New Year’s Eve, a game where Ben McLemore led with 28 points.
Both teams will be dealing with a rash of COVID/injury departures for tonight. For the Hawks, John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic are still out in health and safety protocols as well as head coach Nate McMillan.
For the Blazers, Damian Lillard is out with an abdominal injury while CJ McCollum will still be sidelined with a lung injury. The likes of Jusuf Nurkic and Cody Zeller are still in health and safety protocols and are doubtful but they will be getting back head coach Chauncey Billups.
Atlanta is listed as a 5.5-point favorite per DraftKings Sportsbook. The total is set at 225.
Hawks vs. Trail Blazers, 10:00 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Hawks -5.5
This is an easy play. The Blazers are too shorthanded and damaged to be able to keep pace with a Trae Young-led Hawks team. Lay it with Atlanta.
Over/Under: Over 225
The over will mostly be carried by Young, Capela, and the Hawks putting up 120+ points as the wounded Blazers scrape together enough to put the total over the top.
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