Atlanta Hawks vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 2/26/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Atlanta Hawks vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Friday, February 26, 2021

Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma

Odds/Point Spread: Atlanta (-3.5)

Chesapeake Energy Arena is the venue where and the Oklahoma City Thunder (12-19) will take on the Atlanta Hawks (13-18) on Friday. Atlanta opens this game as 3.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 223.5.

The Atlanta Hawks stepped onto the hardwood against the Boston Celtics and earned the victory with a final of 127-112 in their last contest. Atlanta finished the contest with a 52.9% FG percentage (45 out of 85) and made 23 of their 42 shots from beyond the arc. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Hawks buried 14 of 17 shots for a rate of 82.4%. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 45 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 27 dimes in the game in addition to forcing 6 turnovers and having 4 steals. When talking about the defense, Atlanta allowed the other team to shoot 44.2% from the floor on 42 out of 95 shooting. Boston distributed 20 assists and had 10 steals in this contest. In addition, Boston totaled 36 rebounds (12 offensive, 24 defensive) and earned 6 blocks. Boston ended up going 87.0% from the charity stripe by converting 20 of their 23 tries. They also knocked down 8 of their 31 tries from three-point range.

Trae Young is one player who was a major contributor in the matchup. He finished with 28 points on 9 out of 27 shooting. He was on the court for 37:56 minutes and pulled down 7 rebounds. Young finished the game at 33.3% from the floor and dished out 12 dimes. One more player that had an impact in this matchup for the Hawks was Kevin Huerter. He pulled down 3 rebounds in his 37:07 minutes played on the night. He finished the game at 57.1% from the floor in this game by going 8-of-14 (22 points). Overall, Huerter accounted for 1 assist.

Atlanta steps onto the hardwood with a mark of 13-18 on the season. They are turning it over 14.1 times per game and as a group they commit 19.9 fouls every game. As a team, Atlanta is grabbing 45.5 rebounds per game and has earned 755 dimes on the season, which ranks 15th in the NBA in terms of passing. The Hawks are shooting 35.7% on shots from beyond the arc (377 of 1,057) and 82.1% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 113.2 points per game (14th in basketball) while going 45.3% from the floor. On the defensive end of the court, the Hawks are able to force 12.8 turnovers per contest while drawing 21.6 personal fouls. They currently rank 12th in the league in giving up assists with 746 surrendered this season. The Hawks defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 46.4% (398 of 670) and they relinquish 43.3 boards per game as a team. They give up 35.1% on shots from downtown while they are 21st in the league in points per game from their opponents (113.2).

The last time they took the court, the Oklahoma City Thunder walked away with a victory by a final of 102-99 when they faced the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder corralled 42 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 52 for this game. They also turned the ball over 17 times, while recording 6 steals for this contest. The Spurs committed 13 fouls for the contest which got the Thunder to the free throw line for 11 attempts. They were able to make 10 of those for a percentage of 90.9%. When discussing shots from downtown, Oklahoma City converted 18 of their 44 tries (40.9%). When the game finished, the Thunder ended up going 37 out of 89 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 41.6%. The Thunder permitted the Spurs to convert 40 of 86 tries from the field which had them sitting at 46.5% for the game. They shot 36.0% from 3-point land by going 9 out of 25 and ended up shooting 10 of 15 from the free throw line (66.7%). Concerning team rebounding, Oklahoma City permitted San Antonio to snag 44 in all (6 offensive).

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ended up having an impact for the Thunder for this contest. He buried 10 out of 15 for the contest for a field goal rate of 66.7%, and accumulated 2 rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander had 27 points in his 35:20 minutes on the court and accumulated 5 dimes for this game. An additional guy who came through for Oklahoma City was Darius Bazley. He wrapped the game up with 1 assist in his 31:30 mins on the hardwood, and he converted 5 out of 9 from the floor. Bazley finished going 55.6% from the field and also notching 13 points and 5 total rebounds.

Oklahoma City has a win-loss record of 12-19 for the year. As an offensive team, the Thunder are connecting on 44.9% from the floor, which ranks 24th in the NBA. Oklahoma City has scored 3,311 points so far this year (106.8 per contest) and they pull in 44.4 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 23.2 times per game (23rd in the NBA) and they are turning it over 14.6 times per game. The Thunder commit 18.5 fouls per game and they go 73.4% from the free throw line. The Thunder on the defensive side of the court are 19th in the league in PPG surrendered with 112.5. The Oklahoma City defense allows 35.0% from downtown (405 of 1,156) and opponents are knocking down 75.8% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 25.2 assists and 48.5 boards every game, which is 20th and 29th in basketball. They are forcing 13.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 46.1% from the floor (12th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Atlanta (-3.5)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here