Bill Yin breaks down his prediction and pick for tonight’s game between the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets.
The 34-31 Hawks will host the 17-48 Nets tonight at 7:30 PM EST. The Hawks have listed Dyson Daniels and Jonathan Kuminga as Questionable. The Nets have listed Michael Porter Jr., Egor Demin, Day’Ron Sharpe, Nolan Traore, and Ziaire Williams as Out.
The Hawks are 15.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook with the total for this game set at 225.5 points.
Hawks vs. Nets prediction, preview
The Hawks have been cooking up some serious heat lately, going 8-2 with 118.5 OFFRTG and 107.5 DEFRTG and forcing the issue defensively with a stellar 9.7 SPG. They’re winning with nice ball movement and early-clock advantages rather than isolating themselves into tough shots. They’ve also been proactive about creating an edge with their transition offense and ball movement, turning it into three point shots or paint looks before the defense resets. Jalen Johnson has been at the hub of this offense with career-highs in multiple categories, averaging 23 PPG, 10.4 RPG, and 7.9 APG en route to his first All Star appearance. Onyeka Okongwu has also been a nice surprise this season, stepping out from under Clint Capela’s shadow to put up 16.1 PPG and 7.8 RPG with 1.2 SPG and 1.1 BPG.
The Nets’ season, however, has been an abysmal story outside of Michael Porter Jr.’s individual statistical output. The recent numbers for this team have been ugly, even for a rebuilding team’s standards. They’re putting up 111.7 OFFRTG and 126.6 DEFRTG with only 37.5 RPG, which only helps their opponents snowball and win the possession game. They’re relying on tough shot making from their scorers to keep their offense afloat, and injuries (I use this word lightly) are only making matters worse, wiping out core rotation pieces for this team regularly. This team recently got destroyed by the Pistons 138-100, but also did grab a surprising two point victory against them on March 7.
Hawks vs. Nets pick, best bet
Best Bet: SA Spurs -6.5 (-108)
The Nets are missing pretty much most of their core pieces tonight, and while on paper this looks like a potential blowout at the hands of the Hawks, I’m not so sure about the Hawks covering this spread. It’s a large one and even an emaciated Brooklyn team snatched a narrow victory against the best team in the East on the 7th. Many of Brooklyn’s younger bench pieces who will be featured tonight are on smaller contracts or jockeying for a permanent spot in the league, and thus I’m expecting high levels of effort from the likes of Drake Powell, Noah Clowney, Ben Saraf, and Danny Wolf.