The Los Angeles Clippers will travel to Philips Arena to take on the Atlanta Hawks. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Jan. 27 and can be seen on PRI and FxS.
The Hawks enter this game hoping for similar success after topping the Nuggets 119-105 on Monday. Paul Millsap was the game’s leading scorer with 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting. The Clippers, meanwhile, are coming off a 91-89 win against the Pacers on Tuesday. Chris Paul was the team’s top scorer, accounting for 26 points on 11-for-21 shooting.
Paul has upped his play for the Clippers, averaging 24.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 10.4 assists, 2.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 3.0 three-pointers over the past five games.
Ball control could weigh heavily in this showdown. Los Angeles commits the second-fewest errors in the league (turnover percentage of 12.9%), while Atlanta’s disruptive defense forces the second-most (opponents’ turnover percentage of 16.3%).
The Hawks are a three-point favorite against Los Angeles and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 209 points. The Hawks have gone 27-19 Straight Up (SU) and 22-22-2 Against The Spread (ATS). While they boast a record of 5-3 against Western Conference opponents at home, they have struggled to beat the spread in those same games, going 3-5. The Hawks are one of the best in the NBA in terms of free throw percentage, shooting an impressive .793 from the free throw line. Atlanta is one of the most disciplined teams in the league with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.78. Atlanta is the league’s top scoring team off turnovers with an average of 19.9 points per game. Atlanta will look to take advantage of the Clippers and their propensity to foul. Los Angeles ranks 29th in the league in fouls, averaging 22.9 per game.
As for their opponent, the Clippers have a record of 21-22-2 ATS and 29-16 SU. Against the Eastern Conference, Los Angeles is 13-5 SU and 10-7-1 ATS. The Clippers convert their three-pointers at a high percentage, ranking fourth in the league at .365. The Clippers are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking third in the NBA at 1.83.
These two will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their previous head-to-head meeting, Atlanta came out on top, bumping its SU record to 7-3 over the Clippers in their last 10 meetings. With a 7-3 record, the Hawks also have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – LAC, ATS Winner – LAC, O/U – Over
Notes
Atlanta is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Atlanta’s last 8 games at home.
Atlanta is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home.
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing LA Clippers.
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Atlanta’s last 8 games when playing at home against LA Clippers.
Atlanta is 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against LA Clippers.
The Los Angeles Clippers are among the highest-scoring squads, earning an average of 104.4 points per game (ranked fifth), while the Atlanta Hawks are in the top half of NBA teams in points allowed with 100.0 (ranked ninth).
Atlanta ranks 10th in points allowed per home game (98.1 PPG), while Los Angeles ranks sixth in points per away game with 103.7.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Atlanta Hawks are a solid 16-7. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Los Angeles Clippers have a losing record of 5-8.
When the Atlanta Hawks allow at least 100 points they are 11-12, while the Los Angeles Clippers are 24-8 when they register triple digits.
The Clippers have a defensive rating of 102.3 (ranked 12th). The Hawks rank 10th for their offensive rating of 104.0.
Atlanta averages 98.5 possessions per game, scoring 1.040 points on each possession. While Los Angeles averages fewer possessions per game with 98.0, the team scores more points per possession with 1.065.
The Atlanta Hawks have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking fifth in the league with an EFF% of 51.5%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Los Angeles Clippers have an underachieving 2-9 record.
Atlanta ranks near the top of the league in assists at second (25.6 assists per game). Los Angeles is ranked eighth, with 23.1 assists per game.
Atlanta makes an average of 5.6 blocks per game (ranked ninth), while Los Angeles makes 5.2 blocks per game (ranked 11th).
Atlanta is ranked 30th when it comes to offensive rebounding. Los Angeles ranks 18th in defensive rebounds.
The Atlanta Hawks rank third in steals, with an average of 9.6 per game. When the Los Angeles Clippers allow at least 9 steals, they have a solid 6-3 record.
