The Atlanta Hawks (39-29) take on the visiting Denver Nuggets (28-40) at Philips Arena. The game starts at 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 17 and will air on FxS and ALT.
The Hawks beat the Pistons 118-114 on Wednesday. With 21 points and 11 rebounds, Al Horford recorded his 14th double-double this season. The Nuggets, meanwhile, are coming off a 116-110 loss at the hands of the Magic on Tuesday. Nikola Jokic posted 14 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Denver could own the offensive glass in this matchup, as it ranks fourth in the NBA in offensive rebound percentage at 26.0%. Conversely, Atlanta places 26th in the league on the defensive backboards with a defensive rebound percentage of 74.4%.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Hawks won the first game 119-105. Paul Millsap was the game’s leading scorer with 22 points.
The Hawks are attempting to build on their records of 39-29 Straight Up (SU) and 34-32-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 39-29 SU and 34-32-2 ATS versus the Western Conference. Spreading the ball around is a huge part of Atlanta’s offense. They are second in the league in assists with an average of 25.4 per game. Transitioning to the Atlanta defense, teams have to fight for open shots against the Hawks, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the league at .433. The Hawks are third in the league in steals with 9.4 per game. If its opponents turn the ball over, Atlanta has shown that it knows how to capitalize. They average 19.1 points off turnovers, making them the top team in the league for that category.
Across the court, the Nuggets head into the game with records of 37-27-4 ATS and 28-40 SU. Most recently, Denver is 8-2 ATS over the last 10 games.
The Hawks’ win over Denver in their last game couldn’t give them the edge in the head-to-head record over the past 10 meetings, where the Nuggets still lead 6-4 SU. The teams have an even record ATS, 5-5.
Predictions: SU Winner – Atl
Notes
“Atlanta is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games “.
“Atlanta is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta’s last 5 games “.
“Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 5 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 10 of Atlanta’s last 15 games when playing Denver”.
“Atlanta is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games when playing at home against Denver”.
“Atlanta is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Denver”.
Ranked zeroth, Atlanta scores 0.0 points per game. On the other hand, Denver gives up 0.0 and also ranks zeroth (in points allowed).
Atlanta and Denver are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per home game and points allowed per away game respectively. Atlanta puts up an average of 0.0 points per home game, while Denver gives up 0.0 points per away game on average.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Atlanta Hawks are a dazzling 27-9. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Denver Nuggets have an abysmal record of 3-18.
Atlanta is a poor 12-20 when it allows 100 or more points. Denver has a 25-22 record when it hits the century mark.
The Nuggets have a defensive rating of 106.3 (ranked 22nd). The Hawks rank 20th for their offensive rating of 103.2.
The Atlanta Hawks average 99.1 possessions per game and 1.032 points per possession, while the Denver Nuggets earn fewer possessions (98.9) but more points per possession (1.036).
Atlanta is among the top-ranked teams based on its average effective field goal percentage of 51.5% (ranked sixth in the NBA). Denver is a subpar 8-26 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The Atlanta Hawks, ranked second in the NBA, average 25.4 assists per game. The Denver Nuggets make 22.6 assists (ranked 13th)
The Atlanta Hawks average 5.6 blocks per game for a rank of seventh. The Denver Nuggets rank lower (19th), earning 4.6 blocks each game.
The Atlanta Hawks rank 30th in offensive rebounding, while the Denver Nuggets rank 18th in defensive rebounding.
Atlanta averages 9.4 steals per game, ranking third in the league. Denver is a poor 13-20 when it gives up at least 9 steals.
