Looking to build off their impressive playoff run from last season, the Atlanta Hawks are leaning on a youthful core to get them to the next level. There are always bumps in the road when undertaking such a chore and the Hawks experienced some in the early going. They were upset by Cleveland on Saturday for their first setback of the campaign. The Hawks look to get back in the win column when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. Without Zion Williamson the Pels have struggled losing their first three games of the season while going 1-2 ATS.
The contest between the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA and will air live on ESPN. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Tuesday NBA schedule.
NBA Opening Lines at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
Both teams play a game before meeting for the first time on Wednesday. And the Hawks are counting on their recent success in the series continuing. The teams played twice in a four day stretch last season with the Hawks winning both by an average of 19.5 points and covering both times. Atlanta opened with a convincing 113-87 home win over Dallas before losing 101-95 as an 8-point favorite in Cleveland. The Pels aren’t sure when Williamson will make his season debut but it can’t be soon enough. They were blitzed in their first two games losing each by double figures and dropped to 0-3 with a 96-89 loss to Minnesota on Saturday, though they barely covered the 7.5-point closing spread. Both teams are trending to the UNDER in the early part of the campaign.
Atlanta Hawks
To get to the next level the Hawks need to play better on the road. They were 16-20 away from home last season and still finished 10 games over .500. They were a well-oiled machine in their opener shooting 48 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range in their 113-87 thumping of the Mavericks. Six players scored in double figures with Cam Reddish coming off the bench for a team-high 20.
Trae Young is the catalyst and as he goes the Hawks go. Young scored 19 points with 14 assists in the opener, but he struggled against the Cavs shooting just 8 of 22 overall and 1 of 6 from three-point range. The Hawks shot just 38 percent and were a dreadful 29 percent from three-point range. Cleveland’s methodical approach seemed to frustrate the Hawks and Atlanta never made the proper adjustments. “They outworked us and were the aggressive team throughout the second half. We weren’t getting stops so we couldn’t get out in transition like we have to,” Nate McMillan said. And that’s another learning moment for a youthful team.
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pels will be a much different team when Williamson returns; we just don’t know when that will be. And in the meantime the team will have to figure things out. It’s been a rough first week with resounding losses Sixers and Bulls to open things up. And while the score was closer the result was the same against Minnesota on Saturday. The Pels fell to 0-3 with a 96-89 setback. It’s hard to score enough points to win a game when you don’t have the basketball and the Pels were generous with the rock on Saturday.
Not many teams are good enough to overcome 30 turnovers and New Orleans is far from being in that group. You could say losing by only seven points in a game you match a franchise turnover record is a positive, but a similar effort against a better team will be ugly. It’s time for the Pels to address the issue and knowing the problem is half the battle. “We know what the problem is and I’m part of it. Just trying to value the basketball,” said Brandon Ingram, who scored 30 points but turned it over seven times against the Wolves.
NBA Odds Pick
This game, much like the Pelicans season, lost some of its attractiveness with Williamson sidelined. You’d think by now the Pels would know who to deal without the former No. 1 overall pick since he’s missed about as many games as he’s played during his career. But they haven’t and they looked awful in the first week. After their loss to Cleveland the Hawks realize they can’t just show up and win. So, with a focused approach the Hawks will get a road win in this one.
NBA Odds Prediction: Hawks 117, Pelicans 105
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