The Oklahoma City Thunder make their lone visit to Atlanta when they take on the Hawks on at the State Farm Arena on Tuesday night.
The Thunder snapped a three-game slide on Saturday with a 122-112 win over the San Antonio Spurs last Saturday. Dennis Schroeder keyed the Thunder win by scoring all of his 19 points in the second half. Schroeder had been struggling since the calendar turned, scoring just 10.4 points while shooting 33% from the floor in 2019. Schroeder will be the player to watch on Tuesday as he takes on his former team in the Hawks.
The Thunder are in the Top 10 in both offense and defense, ranking 9th in scoring at 109.8 points per game scored and 8th in scoring defense at 107.4 points per game allowed. Oklahoma City is also 2nd off the glass with an average of 48.5 rebounds per game but they are only 23rd in passing with 22.6 assists per game.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Atlanta Hawks 1/15/19
Moneyline Odds: Thunder -410, Hawks +310
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 1/15/19
The Hawks have been playing better right now than they did at the start of the season. Atlanta has split their last 14 games but have lost six of their last eight. Turnovers have been a problem for the Hawks who average the most turnovers per game in the league at 184.4 They had 24 in their last game, a 133-114 loss to the Bucks, which led to 34 points for Milwaukee. Against the Thunder, the Hawks must first cut on their errors before thinking about upsetting OKC.
The Hawks rank 20th in the league at 109.2 points per game and are dead last in scoring defense at 117.7 points per game allowed. Atlanta is the 10th best passing team in the NBA at 25.3 assists per game. They also grab a total of 45.6 rebounds per game which puts them at 12th among 30 teams.
The Thunder are 1-3 SU in their last four games played. Oklahoma city is 3-3 SU in their last six road games. The Hawks are 2-5 SU in their last seven games played and Atlanta has won two out of their last three games at home. Head to head, the Thunder are 7-3 SU in their last 10 meetings. Oklahoma City is also 17-6 SU in their last 23 road games against Atlanta.
As for the Thunder, they snapped a three game skid by halting the surging San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. The win avenged a loss to the Spurs two days earlier. The Thunder are still in second place in the Northwest Division at 26-16 and third overall in the Western Conference behind the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors.
The Thunder are 13-7 all-time in Oklahoma City and have won the last three meetings between these teams. Even though the Hawks have Taurean Prince back, OKC still has a much better lineup and has played much better overall this season. OKC isn’t a stout road team at 10-12 SU but the Hawks are 7-11 SU at home. The Thunder have pretty much owned this matchup and I don’t see things changing here. The Hawks simply don’t have the firepower and experience to match the Thunder.
We’re picking the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Atlanta Hawks on 1/15/19.
Both the Thunder and Hawks are 5-5 ATS in their last five games played. Oklahoma City is 3-3 ATS in their last six road games while Atlanta is 1-2 ATS in their last three home games played. Head to head, the Thunder are 17-8 ATS in their last 25 meetings against the Hawks. Oklahoma City is also 19-4 ATS in their last 23 road games against Atlanta.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Atlanta Hawks 1/15/19
Spread Odds: Thunder -9 (-109), Hawks +9 (-109)
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 1/15/19
Oklahoma City is 6-0 ATS in their last six games when playing on two days rest and 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 games against the Southeast Division. Atlanta is 4-10 ATS in their last 14 home games and 3-12 ATS in their last 15 games against the Thunder in Atlanta. The Hawks don’t have enough firepower to match with the Thunder. Nor do they possess the defense to stop OKC from putting points on the scoreboard.
Prediction: Thunder -9
The under is 5-3-2 in Oklahoma City’s last 10 games played. The total has gone under in four out of the last five games played by the Thunder. The over is 23-20 in the Hawks’ 43 games played this season. The over is 10-8 in Atlanta’s 18 home games played so far. Head to head, the total has gone over in four out of the last five games between the Thunder and Hawks. The under has hit in six out of the last seven meetings between these two teams in Atlanta.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Atlanta Hawks 1/15/19
Over/Under Odds: Over 233 -109, Under 233 -109
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 1/15/19
The under is 4-1 in OKC’s last five road games and the under is 19-7 in Atlanta’s last 26 Tuesday games.The Hawks allow the most points in the league this season so you might pick the over at first look. But Thunder have averaged 115.4 points per game in their last 10 games played and these are already games where they have really pushed the offensive button to the max. Against Atlanta who doesn’t have enough firepower to hang with them, the 233 total is too high for these teams. OKC has also allowed 122 points per game in their last five games played which very un-OKC like this season. I expect Billy Donovan to tighten the screws and get the Thunder back to their defensive ways.
Prediction: Under 233
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