The Cleveland Cavaliers are two and a half games up on the Toronto Raptors for home court advantage in the Eastern Conference Playoffs with eight games left to play and trying to close out strong to secure the top spot. On Friday, they face another team looking to secure something in the playoff race, as the Atlanta Hawks are just a game up on the Miami Heat for the Southeast Division crown.
You can bet on NBA odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
SCHEDULE
To say that Atlanta has a really tough path to hold on to the top spot in the Southeast Division is an understatement. In the Hawks’ seven remaining games, they have to play conference-leading Cleveland twice, probably No. 2 seed Toronto twice, and a game Boston team. 4-3 during this stretch would be good in most circumstances, but may not be enough to give Atlanta the division.
KEY MATCHUP
LeBron James sat out of Cleveland’s Tuesday night tilt against Houston and the Cavaliers showed how much they needed him. After a 35 point second quarter, Cleveland looked like it would be able to coast without LeBron, but blew a 20 point lead at home as the Rockets came all the way back to knock off the Cavaliers.
For all of his off the court issues, LeBron is still amazing on it, and even though he may not be the best teammate he makes any team a title contender. James probably won’t miss a game the rest of the way with the playoffs fast approaching, and that’s good news for Cleveland bettors.
He hasn’t been great behind the arc this year, hitting just 29.3 percent of his three point attempts, but is still knocking down over 50 percent of his field goals and no one in the league can effectively shut him down.
Usually Paul Millsap and Al Horford ensure that Atlanta wins the rebounding battle, but these two have struggled to keep pace against other teams with more than one solid post player. Against Chicago on Monday night, the Hawks were outrebounded by 11 and gave up a shocking 18 offensive rebounds.
If not for a great effort from Jeff Teague and a fantastic night shooting from the charity stripe as a team, Atlanta would have lost to the Bulls but instead held on for the two point victory.
Atlanta’s rebounding issues under this circumstance also showed themselves in the Hawks’ previous meeting against the Cavaliers this season. In that game, Cleveland outrebounded the Hawks by 13 boards in a double-digit Cavalier victory. Horford and Millsap also combined to hit just 28 percent of their shots against the Cavs.
Both will have to perform at a higher level if Atlanta is to win this crucial battle.
LIVE BETTING SCENARIO
Cleveland has been struggling lately, losing three of its last six games outright and failing to cover in seven of its last nine despite most of these games coming against poor competition. Meanwhile, Atlanta has been surging at the right moment, winning nine of its last ten and covering seven of its last nine prior to Wednesday night’s game against Toronto.
Both teams would really like to win this one, but Atlanta probably needs it more. The Hawks have been in good form lately and can steal a victory here assuming Horford and Millsap can perform well and LeBron doesn’t have a LeBron game.
LeBron will be well-rested so that is cause for concern, but look for the Hawks to get it done so back them at good moments on the readjusted pointspread.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go.
Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! Bet on the NBA today as the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks square off Friday, April 1, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. ET at Philips Arena. The matchup will be televised nationally on ESPN.
