The defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers (0-6) will host the Southeast Division’s Atlanta Hawks (2-4) at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM and is set to be broadcast on FSN for regional audiences. These two teams last convened nine days ago at The Q where the Hawks pulled an outright upset of the Cavs on their own court by a score of 133-111, as an eight-point dog. Previous to this, Cavaliers held the upper hand in this series as they had won the last three contests between both parties.
Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers Overview
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks enter on a two-game losing streak after losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in the City of Brotherly Love, last night as an 11-point underdog. The final tally in the aforementioned contest was 113-92. A huge contributor to Atlanta’s demise in this affair was the fact they were bullied on the boards by Philly as the final tally in rebounding was 64-47 in the Sixers’ favor. In Atlanta’s two victories this season the Hawks were far more comparable in the frontcourt with their counterparts as the margin there was 101 Dallas/Cleveland to Atlanta’s 98.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The effects of LeBron James’ departure has been felt significantly very quick in the city of Cleveland. The Cavaliers remain winless on the year and have come nowhere close to earning a victory this season yet. The closest margin of defeat for the Cavs was seven points to the Detroit Pistons on October 25th when the Cavaliers paid their divisional rival a visit in Motown.
Reasons To Avoid Atlanta
Very simply, the Hawks look too easy here when you factor in recent results. The Hawks with points here suggests that the market is reluctant to believe that the Hawks will put another rabbit out of their hat. Yet, the betting public sees this is a dish of candy as 66% of the consensus like Atlanta as the dog in this contest. In the last meeting between the two, the opposite result occurred as Cleveland was the public choice. This looks to be a clear-cut zig-zag.
Reasons To Back Cleveland
The Cavaliers want to get the monkey off their back and just get a win. Given their performance portfolio this campaign so far, it seems preposterous. However, this team does often play a better brand of basketball on its own floor and a win here can re-direct the course of the 2018 season, perhaps. While Cleveland is not likely going back to the post-season, they can still have a few positive takeaways from their efforts including not being the bottom-feeder in the East. A win here gets them on track to do just that.
Get more details: Atlanata at Cleveland NBA Match-Up
