NBA Odds: Hawks (even)
The Orlando Magic (19-40) will have their chance to beat the Eastern Conference’s best team when they play the Atlanta Hawks (45-12) at Philips Arena. The game gets underway at 7:30 pm ET on Friday, Feb. 27 and will air on FSN-FL and SPSO.
The Hawks were victorious over the Mavericks 104-87 on Wednesday. Kyle Korver played well, contributing 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists for the Hawks. The Magic, meanwhile, are coming off a bitter 93-90 loss at the hands of the Heat on Wednesday. Nikola Vucevic had a game-high 26 points.
When considering effective field goal percentage, the Hawks figure to have a significant advantage on the offensive end. They rank third in the NBA in that category at 52.8%, whereas Orlando’s bottom-tier effective field goal percentage defense ranks 27th, with opponents connecting at a clip of 51.2%. Moreover, foul-shooting opportunities could prove to be quite rare for the Magic. They are 27th in the league in free throw attempt rate (24.0), while the Hawks are among the league’s least foul-prone teams (allowing a rate of just 24.0, ranking third in the NBA).
The two teams have split their matchups this season. The Magic had the upper hand in the most recent game, a close 100-99 win. Jeff Teague scored a game-high with 24 points.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Hawks look to build on their records of 45-12 Straight Up (SU) and 38-19 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 7-2 SU and 6-3 ATS when playing their division. Atlanta has consistently been near the top of the league in terms of FG%, currently ranking fourth in the league with a field goal percentage of .467. Spreading the ball around is a huge part of Atlanta’s offense. They are second in the league in assists with an average of 25.6 per game. Transitioning to the Atlanta defense, teams routinely struggle to score points against the Hawks, who allow only 96.6 points per game.
Across the court, the Magic head into the game with records of 31-27-1 ATS and 19-40 SU. Against teams in its division, Orlando is 8-4 ATS, but have only managed a SU record of 4-8.
Orlando beat Atlanta in their most recent meeting this season, but the Hawks still lead the head-to-head record, 7-3 SU, over the last 10 matchups. The Magic hold the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Atlanta held the edge in all three of these categories once in the last 10 meetings. Orlando never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – ATL, ATS Winner – ATL
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 6 games.
Atlanta is 21-4 SU in its last 25 games.
Atlanta is 13-1 SU in its last 14 games at home.
Atlanta is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Orlando.
The total has gone UNDER in 19 of Atlanta’s last 25 games when playing Orlando.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta’s last 5 games when playing Orlando.
Atlanta is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games when playing Orlando.
Atlanta is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Orlando.
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Atlanta’s last 16 games when playing at home against Orlando.
Atlanta is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Orlando.
Atlanta ranks seventh in points per game with 102.9, while Orlando ranks 24th in points allowed with an average of 101.2 given up.
On average, Atlanta scores 102.5 points per home game (ranked 13th). Orlando ranks 17th in points allowed per road game with 100.9.
The Orlando Magic lost their last game by a three-point margin. In games decided by a margin of three points or less, the Atlanta Hawks are 4-4. Orlando is 5-6 in close games this season.
Orlando is 14-15 when allowing under 100 points this season. The Hawks have a solid 13-7 record, when scoring fewer than 100 points.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Magic are just 5-25 this season. Atlanta is an outstanding 32-5 when registering triple digits.
The Magic have an offensive rating of 99.2 (ranked 27th), while the Hawks rank sixth for their defensive rating of 100.1.
Atlanta has an average field goal percentage of 46.7% (ranked fourth). Orlando is an abysmal 3-23 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Atlanta Hawks average 25.9 three point attempts per game, while the Orlando Magic attempt 19.4. When attempting 25 or more three pointers in a game, Atlanta has a tremendous record of 27-7, while Orlando is an even 4-4.
The second-ranked team, Atlanta has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.91 this season. Orlando ranks lower at 27th with an A/TO of 1.42.
The Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic are two of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA. Atlanta is ranked 27th with 41.1 rebounds per game, and Orlando ranks 28th with 40.9.
Atlanta is ranked 12th in defensive rebounds, while Orlando ranks 28th in offensive rebounds.
Atlanta is one of the top teams in forced turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 15.5% (ranked sixth). Orlando has a subpar record of 7-20 SU this season when its TOV% reaches 15.5% or greater.
