The Atlanta Hawks will wrap up a quick two-day road trip with a stop at the Chesapeake Energy Center this Monday night to take on the high-flying Oklahoma City Thunder. This contest is slated to tip off at 8 p.m. (ET), and the game will be available on NBA League Pass.

The Hawks started this trip by waxing Milwaukee 112-87 on Saturday night as 2.5-point favorites. They are now 23-20 (both straight up and against the spread) but still well below .500 on the road at 8-13. Atlanta has covered in just nine of those 21 road games, and the total has gone “over” 14 times.

Oklahoma City continued its recent tear through the NBA with a 103-91 road victory over Philadelphia this past Saturday as a nine-point favorite. It has now won its last seven games both SU and ATS to improve to a Western Conference-best 35-10. The Thunder are 27-18 ATS overall with a 13-9 record ATS at home. The total has stayed “under” in eight of their last 10 games.

Hawks at Thunder Betting Storylines

Atlanta has just three more wins than losses, but in the watered-down Eastern Conference that is good enough for third place in the standings. The Hawks have a tendency to beat the teams they is supposed while struggling against the better competition in the league, although they did notch SU victories over both Indiana and Miami during the last few weeks. They are ranked 12th in the NBA in scoring with 102.1 points a game and shooting 46 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from 3-point range.

Al Horford leads Atlanta in both points (18.6) and rebounds (8.4), with Paul Millsap adding 17.7 points and 8.2 rebounds a game. One injury concern for Monday night is the playing status of Jeff Teague, who has missed the last two games with a sprained ankle. He is the team’s third leading scorer with 16.2 points, and he is dishing out a team-high 7.3 assists. Against the Bucks, Shelvin Mack got the start and scored nine points and added four assists to help fill the void.

The Thunder are not only the hottest team in the league right now, but they also have the NBA’s hottest player in Kevin Durant. With Russell Westbrook still on the mend from knee surgery, Durant has put this team on his back with an average of 31.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He recorded a triple-double against the 76ers with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and it was his 10th straight game of scoring 30 points or more.

Oklahoma City also has a solid supporting cast that has helped the team rank fourth in the league in points (105.3), second in rebounds (46.4) and seventh in points allowed (97.7). When you have a combination like that you are not going to lose too many games, especially at home. The Thunder are ranked third in field goal percentage (47.1), but this drops off to just 35 percent from outside the perimeter, which could be the only chink in the armor on this team.                                                                                  

Hawks at Thunder NBA Betting Odds and Game Trends

BetOnline has opened the Thunder as 10-point home favorites for Monday night’s inter-conference clash, and the total has been set at 205.5.

The Hawks are 1-4 ATS in their last five road games and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games following a SU win. The total has gone over in 24 of their last 32 games on the road.

The Thunder have covered in their last five home games, and they are 5-0 ATS in their last five games against a team with a SU winning record. The total has stayed under in seven of their last nine home games.

Atlanta is just 7-19 ATS in the last 26 meetings and it has failed to cover in six of its last eight road games against Oklahoma City. The total has stayed under in three of the last four games, including the Thunder’s 101-92 victory over the Hawks on Dec. 10 as 3.5-point road favorites.

Free NBA Picks: Hawks at Thunder Betting Predictions

As mentioned earlier, the Hawks have had the tendency to struggle against the better teams they have faced, especially when it comes to inter-conference matchups. There is nothing that tells me they will be able to slow down the Thunder or keep Durant from lighting things up to cover on the road with the 10 points.

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