The Denver Nuggets (23-41) welcome the Atlanta Hawks (50-13), the Eastern Conference’s best team, to the Pepsi Center. The game starts at 9:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 11 and will air on SPSO and Altitude.
The Nuggets won big over the Knicks 106-78 on Monday. With 19 points and 11 rebounds, Kenneth Faried recorded his 18th double-double this season. The Hawks, meanwhile, are coming off a 130-105 win over the Kings on Monday. Jeff Teague had a good game and claimed his ninth double-double of the season, posting 18 points and 13 assists.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Hawks won the first game 96-84. Paul Millsap was a top performer in the victory with 23 points, two rebounds, two assists, four steals, and four three-pointers.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is presently unavailable. The Nuggets are looking to improve on their records of 23-41 Straight Up (SU) and 25-36-3 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 9-17 SU and 11-14-1 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference. Denver is known to control the offensive glass, where they rack up an impressive 12.2 offensive rebounds per game.
Across the court, Atlanta has a SU record of 50-13 and an ATS record of 40-23. In Western Conference games, Atlanta has gone 18-4 SU and 16-6 ATS. The Hawks are shooting lights out so far, with a .468 field-goal percentage that ranks third in the NBA. The Hawks are a top-five team in the league at finding the open man with an average of 25.7 assists per game. Switching gears to Atlanta’s defense, teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Hawks, who are the third-best team in the league in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .433. Atlanta may be taking trips to the free throw line early and often with the Nuggets averaging a league-high 22.9 fouls per game.
Following the Hawks’ latest win over Denver, Atlanta is still behind in the head-to-head record over the past 10 meetings, 4-6 SU. At 5-5, they are even bets ATS. Denver had the advantage in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) three times over the last 10. Atlanta has had the edge in all categories twice.
Predictions: SU Winner – ATL, ATS Winner – ATL
Notes
On average, Atlanta puts up 102.8 points per game (ranked seventh). Denver ranks 26th in points allowed per game with 103.8.
Denver ranks 28th in points allowed per home game (103.0 PPG), while Atlanta ranks eighth in points per away game with 102.3.
When the Nuggets give up fewer than 100 points to their opponents, they are 15-7. When the Hawks score fewer than 100 points, they also have a winning record (15-8).
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Nuggets are just 8-34 this season. Atlanta is a stellar 35-5 when it reaches the century mark.
The Nuggets have an offensive rating of 100.3 (ranked 24th). The Hawks rank eighth for their defensive rating of 100.0.
The Denver Nuggets average 99.5 possessions per game and 1.003 points per possession, while the Atlanta Hawks earn fewer possessions (96.5) but more points per possession (1.066).
The Atlanta Hawks have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking second in the league with an EFF% of 53.0%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Denver Nuggets are winless with a 0-18 record.
On average, the Atlanta Hawks make 25.7 assists per game and the Denver Nuggets make 21.6. Atlanta is ranked second, while Denver is ranked 16th.
Denver makes an average of 4.7 blocks per game (ranked 16th). Atlanta ranks higher in blocks with 4.7 (ranked 14th).
The Denver Nuggets are among the best offensive rebounding teams in the league (ranked fourth). The Atlanta Hawks are in the top half of NBA teams in defensive rebounding (ranked 15th).
The Atlanta Hawks average 8.7 steals per game (ranked sixth). The Denver Nuggets have a subpar 5-23 record when they allow at least 8 steals.
