Atlanta Hawks vs Milwaukee Bucks
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The Atlanta Hawks will try and win their seventh straight road game when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks tonight. This is the third meeting between these two teams, with the road team winning each of the first two. Tip-off is set for 8:00 ET at the Bradley Center.
The Hawks got their butts kicked at home by the Hornets 100-59 last Friday, but quickly bounced back with 103-87 win at Charlotte the following night. The Hawks are now 8-2 in the month of January.
The Bucks haven’t had much luck since winning back-to-back games against the Wizards and Cavaliers. Milwaukee lost 94-81 at home to the Grizzlies last Saturday, and then followed that up with a 92-83 loss at Chicago on Monday.
Taking a look at the spreads for tonight’s game, oddsmakers have the Hawks favored by 2.5-points over the Bucks with the total set at 180.5.
Atlanta got a big night from shooting guard Joe Johnson, as he dropped 32 points on the Bobcats. Josh Smith added 16, while Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford each had 14.
The Hawks figure to get a boost to their starting lineup tonight, as Al Horford is expected to return after missing the last two games, and Marvin Williams will be available for the first time since hurting his back on Dec. 29.
The Hawks went 7-2 without Williams, but getting Horford back in the starting lineup is big for Atlanta, as they really don’t have a lot of depth at his position. Horford had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Williams had 14 off the bench in the Hawks 95-80 win at Milwaukee earlier this season.
Milwaukee has also been plagued with a bunch of injuries to key players, but they likely aren’t going to get anyone back for this game. Brandon Jennings isn’t expected to make his return until the weekend, and both John Salmons and Drew Gooden are listed as doubtful.
The Bucks are hoping that they can get another big offensive night from Chris Douglas-Roberts, as he dropped 30 points on the Bulls, but Douglas-Roberts, and it seems when he is given the playing time, he can put up some big numbers.
Milwaukee however got just eight points from Andrew Bogut and only four from Corey Maggette. The Bucks are only averaging 91 points a game, and simply don’t have the offensive talent to win games when these two don’t contribute.
I think there is no question you take the Hawks to not only win but easily cover the spread in this game. Atlanta is playing with a ton of confidence on the road, and the Bucks are just too banged up to keep this game close. The only chance Milwaukee has of winning this game is if they play great on the defensive end, but even then they could still lose the game.
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