The Atlanta Hawks (26-30) host the Cleveland Cavaliers (35-22) Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at State Farm Arena. Below, we look at the Cavaliers vs. Hawks odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Cleveland had its four-game win streak snapped by getting crushed 103-93 by the Sixers in Philly Saturday as a 2.5-point road underdog. The Cavs are 4-2 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) over the past two weeks.
Atlanta has lost back-to-back games to the San Antonio Spurs (136-121 Friday) and to the Boston Celtics (105-95 Super Bowl Sunday). The Hawks are 2-4 SU and ATS in the last 14 days.
These teams are split 1-1 SU and ATS in their season series with the road team winning and covering both.
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Cavaliers at Hawks odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:15 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Cavaliers +100 (bet $100 to win $100) | Hawks -120 (bet $120 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Cavaliers +1.5 (-115) | Hawks -1.5 (-107)
- Over/Under: 219.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Cavaliers at Hawks key injuries
Cavaliers
- PF Lauri Markkanen (ankle) out
Hawks
- SG Bogdan Bogdanovic (ankle) questionable
- PF John Collins (foot) out
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Cavaliers at Hawks odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Hawks 110, Cavaliers 106
Money line
“LEAN” to the HAWKS (-120) against my better judgment because there’s some puzzling reverse line movement heading in Atlanta’s direction despite the Hawks missing Collins and their current form.
According to Pregame.com and the Yahoo! Sports app, a vast majority of the action is on the Cavaliers but they’ve gone from -145 favorites on the opener down to the current price. It’s a red flag whenever the oddsmakers make the more popular side cheaper.
Also, the Hawks play well at home against tough teams. They’re 7-3 SU at home versus teams in the top 10 of efficiency differential with a plus-5.1 adjusted net rating (ranked fifth) and plus-3.9 ATS margin (ranked fourth), according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
Cleveland also has a below-average defensive efficiency versus pick-and-roll (PnR) action through the ball handler, which is a problem when facing a PnR expert in Atlanta All-Star PG Trae Young.
However, it’s only a “LEAN” to the HAWKS (-120) because they are without their second-best player in Collins and the Cavs have a much better net rating.
Against the spread
PASS because Atlanta’s money line is only 13 cents on the dollar more expensive than the Hawks -1.5 (-107).
Over/Under
“LEAN” to the UNDER 219.5 (-112) because there’s been a sharp line move heading south of the total, both play at a below-average pace and the Under has cashed in five of the past six Cavaliers-Hawks meetings.
This total opened at 222 but has been steamed down to the current number due to one-way betting traffic towards the Under.
Lastly, two of the three referees assigned to this game have officiated more Unders and the officiating crew has a combined 46-58 O/U record.
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