Cleveland Cavaliers @ Atlanta Hawks
Current Records: Cleveland 17-2, Atlanta 8-11
The Cavaliers have enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will venture away from home to challenge the Atlanta Hawks at 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday at State Farm Arena. The Cavaliers are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 123.5 points per game this season.
The Cavaliers were supposed to be headed into the match following a big win against the Hawks, but things went a little differently in their matchup on Wednesday. The Cavaliers fell 135-124 to the Hawks. Cleveland was up 27-8 in the first but couldn’t hold on to the lead.
The Hawks’ victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jalen Johnson, who almost dropped a double-double on 22 points and nine rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Trae Young, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 22 assists.
The Hawks were working as a unit and finished the game with 39 assists (they’re ranked fourth in assists per game overall). That’s the most assists they’ve posted since back in March.
Cleveland’s defeat ended a ten-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 17-2. As for Atlanta, they moved to 8-11 with that win, which also ended their three-game losing streak.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday’s contest: The Cavaliers have been dynamite from deep this season, having nailed 40.8% of their threes per game. It’s a different story for the Hawks, though, as they’ve only made 34.8% of their threes this season. Given the Cavaliers’ sizable advantage in that area, the Hawks will need to find a way to close that gap.
Cleveland is a solid 6-point favorite against Atlanta, according to the latest NBA odds.
The line has drifted a bit towards the Cavaliers, as the game opened with the Cavaliers as a 3.5-point favorite.
The oddsmakers are expecting fireworks from the offense and set the over/under at a high 245.5 points.
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Atlanta has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Cleveland.
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