Denver Nuggets vs Atlanta Hawks Prediction, 2/21/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Denver Nuggets vs Atlanta Hawks

Date: Sunday, February 21, 2021

Location: State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA

TV: Fox Sports Southeast

Odds/Point Spread: Denver (-2.5)

The Atlanta Hawks (12-17) host the Denver Nuggets (16-13) at State Farm Arena on Sunday. The spread on this contest has Denver as 2.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 228.

The Denver Nuggets faced off with the Cleveland Cavaliers and notched a win by a score of 120-103 in their last game. Denver wrapped up the contest having earned a 57.5% field goal percentage (46 of 80) and converted 15 out of their 31 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Nuggets converted 13 of their 17 attempts for a rate of 76.5%. With respect to pulling down rebounds, they earned 37 with 6 of them being offensive. They also recorded 24 assists for this game as well as having 9 steals and 2 rejections. Regarding defending, Denver allowed their opponent to shoot 47.0% from the floor on 39 out of 83 shooting. Cleveland totaled 30 dimes and had 8 steals for the matchup. In addition, the Cavaliers snagged 34 boards (13 offensive, 21 defensive) and got 4 blocked shots. Cleveland walked away from this one shooting 61.9% from the free throw line by knocking down 13 of their 21 tries. They knocked down 12 out of their 31 shots from distance.

Jamal Murray is someone who came through for the matchup. He scored 50 points on 21 out of 25 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 38:15 minutes played and also collected 6 boards. Murray went 84.0% from the field and dished out 2 assists. Another guy that had an impact in the game for the Nuggets was Michael Porter. He pulled down 7 rebounds and accounted for 2 dimes. He ended up going 50.0% from the floor in this contest by shooting 8-of-16 (22 points). When the final whistle was blown, Porter played for 32:57 min.

Denver comes into this matchup with a mark of 16-13 so far this year. They have an average of 115.5 pts per contest (4th in the league) while connecting on 48.3% from the floor. The Nuggets are shooting 38.1% from downtown (386 of 1,012) and 77.6% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Denver is pulling in 43.9 rebounds per game and has racked up 769 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 5th in the NBA in terms of passing. They turn it over 13.9 times per game and as a team they commit 19.9 fouls on a nightly basis. When they are on the defensive end, the Nuggets are forcing 15.0 turnovers per game and they draw 20.8 personal fouls. They rank 27th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 781 relinquished on the year. The Nuggets are allowing a shooting percentage of 47.2% (435 of 603) and they concede 42.0 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are conceding 36.6% on 3-point shots and they are 11th in basketball in points per game allowed (111.4).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Atlanta Hawks went home defeated by a final of 121-109 when they played the Boston Celtics. The Hawks were able to corral 28 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 41 in the matchup. They also stuffed 6 shots while recording 14 steals for the matchup. The Celtics had 21 fouls for the matchup which took the Hawks to the charity stripe for 25 attempts. They were able to bury 23 of them for a rate of 92.0%. When it comes to shooting from distance, Atlanta made 10 of 30 attempts (33.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Hawks finished shooting 38 out of 90 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.2%. The Hawks permitted the Celtics to make 50 of their 90 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 55.6% in this matchup. They finished the game shooting 40.0% from three-point range by going 14 of 35 and finished the game at 7 out of 10 from the free throw line (70.0%). With respect to rebounding, Atlanta permitted Boston to grab 44 in all (9 on the offensive side).

Trae Young ended up being a major contributor for the Hawks for the contest. He made 10 out of 16 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 62.5%, which earned him 31 points. Young snagged 4 boards in his 36:33 mins of time on the hardwood and had 11 assists in the matchup. One more player that ended up playing a role for Atlanta was Clint Capela. He notched 24 points in 31:05 mins on the hardwood via 11 of 14 from the floor in this matchup. Capela finished going 78.6% from the field while also totaling 2 assists and 15 total rebounds.

Atlanta has a win-loss mark of 12-17 for the season. The Hawks are committing 19.9 fouls per game and they shoot 82.4% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 24.3 times per contest (19th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 14.2 times per game. Atlanta has earned 3,276 pts so far this year (113.0 per contest) and they pull in 45.7 boards per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Hawks are hitting on 45.1% from the floor, which is ranked 21st in the league. The Hawks on the defensive end are ranked 20th in the league in PPG surrendered with 113.1. They are forcing 12.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 46.0% from the field (11th in the NBA). The Atlanta defense allows 34.2% on 3-pointers (336 of 982) and opponents are converting on 82.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 23.9 assists and 43.9 boards per contest, which ranks them 11th and 13th in basketball.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Atlanta (+2.5)

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