Cleveland Cavaliers vs Atlanta Hawks Prediction, 1/2/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Atlanta Hawks

Date: Saturday, January 2, 2021

Location: State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA

TV: Fox Sports Southeast

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (+8.5)

State Farm Arena is the site where and the Atlanta Hawks (3-1) will play the Cleveland Cavaliers (3-2) on Saturday. Atlanta opens this matchup as 8.5-point favorites. The total is set at 236.

The Cleveland Cavaliers faced the Indiana Pacers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 119-99 in their last game. Cleveland finished the game having earned a 45.1% FG percentage (37 out of 82) and made 12 out of their 23 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Cavaliers made 13 of their 24 tries for a rate of 54.2%. When discussing hauling in boards, they collected a total of 44 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 22 dimes in this matchup as well as having 5 steals and 6 blocks. In relation to the defense, Cleveland allowed the other team to go 48.3% from the field on 42 of 87 shooting. Indiana earned 28 assists and had 13 steals for this game. Furthurmore, the Pacers pulled down 43 rebounds (9 offensive, 34 defensive) and earned 2 blocked shots. Indiana shot 79.2% when shooting free throws by burying 19 of 24 attempts. They knocked down 16 out of their 35 shots from distance.

Collin Sexton is a guy who was important for the game. He totaled 28 points on 12 of 19 shooting. He saw the court for 36:36 mins and also collected 2 rebounds. Sexton shot 63.2% from the floor and earned 4 dimes. An additional guy that was a factor in this contest for the Cavaliers was Darius Garland. He collected 2 rebounds and also had 5 assists. He walked away from this one shooting 57.1% from the field in this contest by going 8-of-14 (21 points). At the conclusion of this game, Garland played for 38:11 minutes.

Cleveland steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 3-2 for the campaign. They are turning it over 17.6 times per contest and as a group they commit 21.4 fouls per game. As a unit, Cleveland is collecting 46.6 boards per game and has earned 138 dimes for the season, which ranks 2nd in the league in terms of passing. The Cavaliers are connecting on 39.9% on three-point shots (55 of 138) and 67.0% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 110.4 points per game (20th in the NBA) while shooting 47.2% from the field. Defensively, the Cavaliers are able to force 20.4 turnovers per game while drawing 19.8 personal fouls. The Cavaliers defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 44.8% (102 of 99) and they surrender 45.2 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are ranked 26th in basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 128 conceded so far this season. They are giving up 39.8% on shots from distance and they are ranked 8th in the league in points per game allowed (108.2).

In their last game, the Atlanta Hawks took a loss by a score of 145-141 when they played the Brooklyn Nets. The Hawks collected 37 defensive boards and 17 offensive rebounds totaling 54 for this contest. They also stuffed 2 tries while recording 5 steals in this game. The Nets committed 24 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Hawks to the charity stripe for a total of 35 shots. They were able to knock down 29 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 82.9%. When talking about shooting from 3-point land, Atlanta converted 18 of their 46 attempts (39.1%). Overall, the Hawks ended up going 47 out of 99 from the floor which had them shooting 47.5%. The Hawks permitted the Nets to convert 54 of their 100 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 54.0% in this matchup. They finished 46.3% from distance via 19 out of 41 and finished the game at 18 out of 23 at the free throw line (78.3%). When it comes to how they cleaned up the glass, Atlanta allowed Brooklyn to grab 40 overall (9 on the offensive side).

Trae Young ended up being a factor for the Hawks for the contest. He made 8 out of 18 in this game giving him a rate of 44.4%, which gave him 30 points. Young snagged 6 rebounds in his 31:56 minutes of time on the hardwood and earned 11 dimes in the game. One more player that ended being a contributor for Atlanta was John Collins. He notched 30 points in 30:34 mins on the court by going 12 of 20 shooting for this game. Collins wrapped this one up going 60.0% from the floor as well as collecting 2 assists and 10 boards.

Atlanta has a record of 3-1 so far this year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Hawks are connecting on 48.0% from the field, which ranks 8th in basketball. Atlanta has scored 515 pts for the season (128.8 per game) and they collect 49.8 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 26.0 times per game (10th in the league) and they are turning it over 15.8 times per game. The Hawks are responsible for committing 22.5 personal fouls per game and they go 85.1% from the charity stripe. The Hawks on defense are ranked 22nd in the NBA in PPG given up with 120.3. The Atlanta defense surrenders 33.1% on 3-point attempts (53 of 160) and their opponents are connecting on 84.6% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 23.5 assists and 42.8 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 9th and 8th in the NBA. They are forcing 11.0 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.0% from the floor (9th in the league).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Cleveland (+8.5)

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