NBA - 733 Cleveland Cavaliers @ 734 Atlanta Hawks
Projected Line: Atlanta by 14 points
Cleveland got crushed at New Orleans last night, even though Kyrie Irving returned to the lineup and had a big game with 11-20 FG, 31 points and 6 assists. The offensive boost from Irving's return was evident, but the Cavaliers's problem is really on defend. They were completely outrebounded by the Hornets last night, as they grabbed just 40% of the rebounds, while the Hornets's offense did whatever they wanted to do with the Cavs's defense: 12-21 3pts and 46 points in the paint. Even the slow paced Hornets were able to score 19 fast break points against Cleveland's horrible transition defense! It clearly seems that the Cavaliers have given up on the season and their locker room is currently dealing with some problems between the coach and the players:
Byron Scott's future with the Cavs is "in question," according to the Akron Beacon-Journal. One anonymous Cavs player told the paper that the team is "exhausted" at this point, and went as far as to say Scott "killed us in camp. Out shootarounds are an hour and 45 minutes." One player defended Scott saying that his teammates should "shut up and play," but there are questions about Scott in the front office and this won't be the last time we hear a rumble like this.
The Cavaliers have a tough back to back game at Atlanta tonight, especially with Kyrie Irving not playing. Considering their defense with a poor transition defense and weak rim protection, they will get absolutely crushed by Atlanta's athletic offense! The Hawks are coming from a home win against Orlando, where Al Horford didn't play and Nikola Vucevic has a nice game with 8-17 FG, 17 points and 15 rebounds. However, Cleveland doesn't have any big man with the offensive skills of Vucevic, so they don't do the damage that Orlando was able to do down low. Therefore, I expect an easy blowout win for Atlanta tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here.
Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 734 Atlanta Hawks (-10) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker
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