The Atlanta Hawks go on the road to the Hoosier State to take on the Indiana Pacers on Monday at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Hawks have been soaring as of late, winning five out of their last six games. Meanwhile, the Pacers have been surging in the East with eight wins in their last 10 games including four wins in a row heading to this contest.
The Atlanta Hawks are currently enjoying a rare stretch of success in their first rebuilding season under head coach Lloyd Pierce. The Hawks are only 11-24 on the season but they have won five out of their last six games. Nobody is expecting this team to make the playoffs, including themselves. But they’re getting together and starting to figure some things out recently.
John Collins has emerged as the leader of this young team. The second year man from Wake Forest leads the Hawks with 18.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Rookie Trae Young is adding 15.6 points and 7.4 assists per game for Atlanta. Kent Bazemore is also scoring 14.0 points per game while leading the team in steals at 1.7 steal per contest.
The Hawks are averaging 109.5 points per game this season, 20th in the league. Atlanta is also ranked 6th in rebounding at 25.7 assists per game while they are 17th in rebounding at 44.8 boards per contest. Defensively, the Hawks have the worst scoring defense in the league, allowing opponents to score 118.0 points per game this season.
The Indiana Pacers have not just been winning, they are winning big. Indiana has won 11 out of their last 13 games and they’ve won by an average winning margin of 14 points per game while losing the two games in that period by a combined winning margin of just four points. That’s how good the Pacers have been as of late and that’s why they have been able to rise to 24-12 in the team standings, just 1.5 games behind East leaders Milwaukee.
Victor Oladipo has been the catalyst for the Pacers surge. The Pacers have been 7-2 since his return from injury. ‘Dipo has struggled since his return, averaging just 16.1 points on 39.8% shooting from the field. But his mere presence has lifted his team Oladipo however is considered as day to day with a shoulder issue. He was just 2-9 with 7 points in his last outing. But behind Oladipo in the depth chart, the Pacers have double digit scorers in Bojan Bogdanovic (16.3 PPG), Domantas Sabonis (14.5 PPG), Darren Collison (12.9 PPG), Thaddeus Young (12.2 PPG) and Myles Turner (10.5 PPG) who can fill in the slack.
Indiana ranks only 24th in team scoring at 107.3 points per game. However, the Pacers are the number one defensive team in the league in terms of scoring defense with their 100.9 points per game allowed. Indiana is also ranked 8th in passing with 25.4 assists per game while they are 23rd in rebounding at 44.0 boards per contest.
The Hawks are 5-1 SU in their last six games played. Atlanta is 4-12 SU in their last 16 road games played. The Pacers are 11-2 SU in their last 13 games played and are 13-5 SU in 18 home game played this season. Head to head, Indiana is 7-3 SU in their last 10 meetings.
Victor Oladipo is considered as day to day and may miss this contest with a shoulder problem. But remember that the Pacers survived without him for an extended period earlier this month. In fact, the Pacers went 7-4 without him and won their last four games during that period. So for sure, this isn’t a team which depends on just one man to win.
On the other hand, the Hawks have found unlikely success lately, winning five out of their last six games played. However, with all due respect for Atlanta, all their wins came over sub .500 teams so you can’t really trust them against an elite like the Pacers who are finding their mark as of late.
I think the Pacers are too good here and are playing excellent basketball in the last couple of weeks. With or without Oladipo in this contest, I think they are going to win big. The Hawks have struggled on the road all season long while the Pacers have been solid at home. We’re picking the Indiana Pacers to beat the Atlanta Hawks on 12/21/18.
Atlanta is 4-2 ATS in their last six games played. The Hawks are 4-2 ATS in their last six road games. The Pacers are 5-0 ATS in their last five games overall and 10-8 ATS in 18 home games played this season. Head to head, the Indiana os 6-4 ATS in their last 10 meetings.
The Hawks are 0-4 ATS in their last four Monday games. Atlanta is 1-5 ATS in their last six games against teams with a winning percentage of .600. Meanwhile, the Pacers are 4-0 ATS in their last four games teams with losing SU records. Indiana is also 4-0 ATS in their last four games after an ATS win. Prediction: Pacers -12
The total has gone under in four out of the last six games played by the Hawks. The over is 10-9 in Atlanta’s 19 road games played this season. The total has gone under in 13 out of the last 16 games played by the Pacers and the under is 14-4 in Indiana’s 18 home games this season. Head to head, the under is 8-1-1 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams.
The Hawks are the 20th scoring team in the league and they are taking on the #1 defensive team in the NBA. No question the Pacers can score points but when they’re up against teams that don’t score a lot, they just let their defense take over. The under is 6-1 in Indiana’s last seven games against teams with a losing record. The under is also 5-1 in the Pacers’ last six home games against teams with losing records. Prediction: Under 221.5
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