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

Atlanta  at Charlotte

NBA - 701 Atlanta Hawks @ 702 Charlotte Bobcats Plays #1 & 2 First of all, the good news. It seems like Al Jefferson will be back for tonight's game: Al Jefferson (ankle) practiced on Sunday and coach Steve Clifford is "hopeful" that he'll be in uniform vs. the Hawks on Monday. "It’s all up to coach [Clifford]" Al Jefferson said, when asked when he'd return to action. "I think I proved I can go, but it’s not about one game and relapsing." Al Jefferson (ankle) will start Monday's game after making it through shootaround with no setbacks. "I don’t know how many minutes he'll play, but he feels good" said Bobcats coach Steve Clifford. Al Jefferson's return comes right in time for... the Hawks! Of course Al Jefferson won't be at 100% tonight and while he might make a nice effort on offense, I'm sure that his poor defense will be even worse tonight on his comeback game due to lack of rhythm and lack of playing time on the team defensive scheme. So, Al Horford will have a huge field day today on offense! Charlotte has been great in protecting the rim this season with just 59.6% FG allowed! However, tonight's game will be tough matchup for them and in fact, when they faced the Knicks with two "big men" that shoot from the outside like Carmelo Anthony and Andrea Bargnani, the Bobcats' defense struggle and so, today I expect Al Horford and Paul Millsap to do the same in here with their nice mid range shooting skills. On the other side, Charlotte with Al Jefferson on the rotation will allow the perimeter players to have more space. What they like to do is attack the rim with their guards and if they don't score, they can at least get free throw attempts. Atlanta's defense is being built like San Antonio's (not a surprise as their head coach was Popovich's main assistant) and that means that the Hawks are #4 in the league on opponent FT rate with just 17.5%! So, the key in here will be how Kemba Walker, Gerald Henderson and Ramon Sessions will be efficient on offense today. Atlanta isn't a strong unit on this defensive area, but their defense is designed to force their opponents to shoot from mid-range, while protecting the basket, so I believe that Atlanta will do an acceptable defensive game in here. Atlanta's edge on offense will be huge, especially with the Horford x Jefferson mismatch, while I expect them to be decent on defense. Therefore, I'll be taking the Hawks tonight. As I believe Atlanta will have an offensive explosion and Charlotte will also score their points against a decent but not great Hawks' defense, I'll be also taking the Over in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 701/702 Over 195 @ -110 / 1.91 on 5Dimes Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 701 Atlanta Hawks (-2.5) @ -110 / 1.91 on 5Dimes