The Golden State Warriors (48-25) face the Atlanta Hawks (36-37) Friday with tip-off at State Farm Arena scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Warriors vs. Hawks odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Golden State upset the Heat 118-104 Wednesday in Miami as a 9.5-point underdog without its championship core. Over the past two weeks, the Warriors 3-3 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS).
Atlanta has alternated wins and losses over the past 6 games with the most recent being a 122-101 loss at the Detroit Pistons Wednesday as a 5-point favorites.
The Warriors smacked the Hawks 127-113 at Golden State Nov. 8, easily covering as 3.5-point favorites. Warriors’ All-Star PG Stephen Curry erupted for 50 points on 50.0% shooting (including 9-for-19 from behind the arc) in that one, but he’ll be sidelined for this meeting with a foot injury.
Warriors 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 1:30 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Warriors +115 (bet $100 to win $115) | Hawks -140 (bet $140 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Warriors +2.5 (-108) | Hawks -2.5 (-112)
- Over/Under (O/U): 220.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
Warriors at Hawks key injuries
Warriors
- PG Stephen Curry (foot) out
Hawks
- PF John Collins (finger) out
[tipico]
Warriors at Hawks odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Warriors 116, Hawks 111
Money line
LEAN WARRIORS (+115) only because I prefer their spread, but the Hawks are a team I want to fade since they are easy to defend.
Atlanta All-Star Trae Young has the fourth-highest usage rate in the NBA, but his team is a game below-.500 because his stats don’t equal wins and losses. The other players in the top five of usage rate are on teams well above-.500. In fact, the Hawks are 3-3 SU in games Young misses.
Furthermore, Atlanta runs a ton of pick-and-roll (PnR) action with Young at the helm and Golden State’s defensive has the best efficiency versus PnR action through ball handlers.
Also, the Warriors shred bad defenses and the Hawks are 27th in defensive rating. According to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG), Golden State is 20-2 SU versus bottom 10 with the league’s best adjusted net rating (plus-12.5) and fourth-best ATS margin (plus-4.4).
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
Against the spread
BET WARRIORS +2.5 (-108) for 1 unit.
Their aforementioned success versus bad defenses and the presumed sharp side of the market is backing Golden State, while the public is on the Hawks -2.5 (-112).
According to Tipico, 55% of the bets placed are on Atlanta, while 70% of the money is on Golden State. Typically, in sports betting, it’s wiser to follow the money since sharps put up a lot more dough than your average bettor.
Also, Golden State should get a boost in morale following its upset over Miami Wednesday since the Warriors were sans their championship core but role players stepped up.
Maybe I’m the sucker, but I’m surprised the Hawks are the favorites here. This should be a pick ’em game, so I’ll GRAB the WARRIORS +2.5 (-108).
Over/Under
PASS.
This total feels like a trap line and it should be higher given how poor the Hawks are on defense.
But we do like how Golden State’s defense matches up with Atlanta’s offense and don’t see a ton of value in this number.
Bet legally online with a trusted partner: Tipico Sportsbook, Sportsbook Wire’s official sportsbook partner in CO, NJ and soon IA. Bet now!
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional NBA sports coverage:
HoopsHype | Celtics Wire | LeBron Wire | Lonzo Wire | Nets Wire | Rockets Wire | Sixers Wire | Thunder Wire | Warriors Wire | Rookie Wire | List Wire
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]