NBA Picks: Philadelphia 76ers at Atlanta Hawks
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
For the third time this season, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Atlanta Hawks will do battle. Atlanta has won each of the first two games, but both have been divided by five-points or less. The game will be played in Atlanta with tip-off set for 7:00 ET.
Our NBA spreads have the Hawks favored by 5-points over the 76ers with the total set at 193.
Philadelphia comes in off a 117-103 loss at New York on Sunday, ending a three game winning streak. The 76ers are 6-2 in their last eight games, but just 2-4 in their last six on the road.
Atlanta beat the Wizards 99-92 at Washington on Saturday, for their third straight win. Atlanta has also won three straight and 15 of their last 17 at home.
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Philadelphia hasn’t had a whole lot of success on the road this season. They are just 7-19, and just two of those wins have came against teams who currently have a winning record.
Elton Brand continued his strong play of late with 28 points against the Knicks. Brand had scored a game-high 33 points in the 76ers previous game against the Knicks on Friday. Brand is averaging 21 points and 9 rebounds over his last five games.
Andre Iguodala isn’t scoring as much as he use to, but his all around game is still very valuable to this team. Iguodala had 14 points, eight assists, and five rebounds against New York on Sunday, and 18 points and 16 assists against the Knicks on Friday.
While Jrue Holiday had an off night with just two points on 1-8 shooting, Lou Williams and Thaddeus young combined to score 35 points off the bench. If these two can continue to come in and relieve the starters with this kind of production, the 76ers are going to continue to keep winning.
Winning at Atlanta figures to be quite the challenge. Philadelphia has lost four of its last five against the Hawks, but it might be a little easier for the 76ers if Al Horford is unable to go for a second straight game. Horford bruised his back in the Hawks 101-100 win over the Clippers on Friday, and is listed as questionable for tonight’s game.
With Horford out of the lineup against the Wizards, Josh Smith stepped up and delivered a big time performance with 29 points and 16 rebounds. Atlanta also got 21 points from Joe Johnson, and 15 points and 12 rebounds from Marvin Williams.
While the Hawks won despite playing without Horford, they weren’t all that good on the defensive end of the floor. Washington had six different players score in double-figures, and shot 50.6% from the field.
This is a difficult game to predict without knowing the status of Horford. With Horford in the lineup, I think the Hawks are a solid play, but without him I think you have to take the 76ers at +5. Atlanta is just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a losing road record, while the 76ers are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
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