Atlanta Hawks vs Cleveland Cavaliers 10/30/18 NBA Odds, Preview and Prediction

The Atlanta Hawks take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in their second meeting of the season  on Tuesday, 10/30/18 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Hawks are 2-4 on the season and are coming off back to back losses to the Chicago Bulls and the Philadelphia 76ers. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have yet to win a game in six tries and the four-time defending Eastern Conference champions are the only winless team in the NBA this season.

Inconsistent Trae Young

The story of the Hawks season has been the trade for Trae Young. So far, Young has shown flashes of brilliance but has also shown a lot of inconsistency. The Hawks rookie shot 7-17 or 41% from behind the three point arc in Atlanta’s two wins of the season but went 1-12 in the last two games prior to Monday’s game versus the Sixers.

Atlanta needs to do better on the boards as their opponents are grabbing 38.2 defensive rebounds per game. That’s the 4th worst allowed in the league this season. Likewise, the Hawks need to take care of the ball better as they commit the second most turnovers per game in the league this season at 18.4. Because of their turnovers, the Hawks rank dead last in the NBA in assists to turnover ratio at 1.37.

Lue Gets Pink Slip

After a horrendous 0-6 start, the Cleveland Cavaliers have given the pink slip to head coach Tyronn Lue. Lue took over from David Blatt in 2016 and led the Cavs to their first and only NBA title in franchise history. But the departure of LeBron James plus Kevin Love’s current foot injury has made Lue’s job incredibly difficult this season. In Lue’s place, the Cavs have installed assistant coach Larry Drew as interim coach.

Without their leading scorer and rebounder, Larry Drew will have to ask Jordan Clarkson and Rodney Hood to increase their scoring output. Clarkson and Hood are the second and third leading scorers in the team, averaging 16.2 points and 12.3 points per game, respectively. Cleveland has the worst point differential in the league at -12.8. Not only do they have to put points on the scoreboard but they also have to share the ball better. The Cavs are 28th in the NBA in assists at just 20.5 dimes per game.

Who Wins?

The Hawks lead the all-time series between these two Eastern Conference teams at 122-103. They have split their last 10 games played at five apiece while the Cavs took three out of four meetings last season. However, LeBron James was in Cleveland last season and he’s in Los Angeles now. These teams played each other last October 21st and the Hawks emerged victorious, 133-111.

Entering Monday’s games, the Hawks are 6-17 SU in their last 23 games played and 4-14 SU in their last 18 games on the road. On the other hand, the Cavaliers are 3-6 SU in their last 9 games played and are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games versus the Hawks. When playing in Cleveland, the Cavs are 1-4 SU against the Hawks.

Heading to Monday’s games the Hawks are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games on the road while the Cavaliers are 3-6 ATS in their last 9 games and  18-40-1 in their last 59 home games. The Cavaliers are also just 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games against the Hawks. Cleveland is also winless ATS in their last five home games versus Atlanta.

Prior to Monday’s games, the total has gone over in five out of the last seven games played by the Hawks and the over is also 4-1 in Atlanta’s last five games on the road. On the other hand, the total has gone over in 4 out of the last 6 games of the Cavaliers and the total has gone over in all of the last five games between the Hawks and the Cavs. The total is also 5-0 in the last five games between these two teams in Cleveland.