The Atlanta Hawks made the boldest trade of the draft, as they dealt European prodigy Luka Doncic to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Oklahoma star Trae Young and a first-round pick. While the winner of that deal won’t be known for a few years, there is plenty of intrigue this week as the teams face off.
Both teams are in rebuilding mode so this game might be more about the look at the future than the present. The Hawks are the home team and each side has pretty similar talent level, so the Mavericks might be a slight underdog, but this figures to be a competitive matchup.
Defense has been optional for these teams through the first few games of the season so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a high over/under in NBA live betting.
This NBA basketball game between the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks will be held at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia at 7 p.m ET on Wednesday, October 24th, 2018. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
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Odds Analysis
The Hawks are 1-2 on the season. They knocked off the Cavaliers last time out, which ended a two-game losing streak to begin the year. The Mavericks are 1-1. They were blown out by the Suns in their opener but rebounded to beat the Timberwolves last time out.
There is no line yet for this game but look for it soon. There will also be live betting available for this showdown. That allows gamblers to make wagers as the action is ongoing.
Matchup to Watch
Doncic vs. Young -- The rookies that were traded for each other will be on center stage for this one. Doncic is leading his team in scoring with 18 points per contest, while adding seven rebounds and 3.5 assists. Doncic isn’t shooting great from the field but a learning curve was certainly expected as he makes the transition from Europe to the NBA.
Young dropped 35 points on the Cavaliers last time out and he has scored in double figures in every game this year. He also leads the Hawks in assists and is living up to the hype early on. It’s never easy to pass on a player with Doncic’s ability, but Atlanta clearly saw something in Young and was willing to trade down.
It will be interesting to see how these rookies fare in this one.
Key Stat
125. That’s the average total of points allowed per game by these two teams in the earlygoing. The Hawks are allowing 122.7 points per contest while the Mavericks are giving up 128.5 points per game.
Scoring has been up throughout the NBA but those are huge numbers. In order for these teams to improve, they will need to lock down defensively. However, based on the early results, this one could be a freewheeling shootout.
If either team manages to communicate on defense and rebound, it will give it a big leg up.
Free NBA ATS Picks
While the eyes will be on Doncic and Young, each team is going to need several other players to take a step forward in order to be more competitive on the year. The Mavericks would get a big boost if small forward Harrison Barnes can play, but he has been dealing with a hamstring issue that has kept him sidelined for the start of the season.
The Mavericks should be able to keep this one close, but in the end Young and the Hawks will come away with the win. The scoring total could be high, but the “over” is still a legitimate play in NBA live betting.
NBA ATS Pick: Atlanta Hawks 129, Dallas Mavericks 126
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