NBA Free Premium Play 11/23: Atlanta Hawks @ Charlotte Bobcats

Atlanta  at Charlotte

NBA - 501 Atlanta Hawks @ 502 Charlotte Bobcats Projected Line: Atlanta by 8 points Atlanta is coming from a home win on overtime against Washington, on a game where they didn't defend well and they got outrebounded by 58-37 (19-10 on offensive boards). The Hawks was very inconsistent throughout the game, with great runs and bad ones. They had 30 assists and their inside game worked well with 20-29 FG at the rim and 8-14 FG from 3-9feet. Their problem was the outside game, with 3-17 FG from 16-23 feet! Atlanta looked good on transitions and cuts, but they struggled on pick and roll ball handler and spot ups with 8-26 FG 0.88 PPP! On the other hand, the Bobcats are coming from a home win against the Raptors. They didn't look as good on offense as they did against Milwaukee, as they shot 1-6 FG from 10-15 feet, 6-20 FG from 16-23 feet and 3-19 3pts! Byron Mullens struggled with 1-5 FG, but Charlotte compensated with 21-28 FG at the rim and 5-11 FG from 3-9 feet, with their guards penetrating well into the basket. Charlotte looked good on cuts, offensive rebounds and transitions, but they struggled on spot ups with 6-19 FG! Charlotte's main problem was their poor interior defense, with Toronto's big men dominating Byron Mullens and Brendan Haywood and the truth is that Toronto didn't win this game only because their poor spot and a bad call at the end. Charlotte's offense is very guard-oriented and Atlanta has been a very good team in pressuring the ball handler. In fact, they are #1 in creating turnovers with 17.15% in opponent TO rate! This makes them a bad matchup for the Bobcats' offense! Atlanta is a top 15 team in defending at the rim and with the mobility of their frontcourt players, Charlotte's guard will have problems tonight. The Bobcats' offense is based on the following four areas: #5 in pick and roll ball handler, #30 in spot ups, #9 in cuts and #22 in transitions. The problem for Charlotte is that Atlanta is a top defensive team in these areas, excluding on cuts, but they also have a small sample on defending this kind of plays. I also give an edge to Atlanta's frontcourt on this game. On their last game, Brendan Haywood and Byron Mullens struggled in defending Andrea Bargnani and Jonas Valanciunas, so today Josh Smith will completely outplay Byron Mullens, with a huge edge in athleticism and speed! The same can be said about Al Horford against Brendan Haywood, so Charlotte's guards will have to help the frontcourt more than usual and this will immediately crush their usual gameplan in pressuring the opponent ball handlers. I like Atlanta's spot for tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 501 Atlanta Hawks (-3,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker