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Cavaliers vs Hawks Predictions & Odds (Feb. 24)

Eric Rosales

by Eric Rosales in NBA Basketball

Updated Feb 24, 2023 · 9:23 AM PST

Donovan Mitchell screaming reaction
Feb 23, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
  • The Atlanta Hawks are 1-point home favorites vs the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night
  • Cleveland is playing the second night of a back-to-back after losing at home to Denver
  • Read below for the Cavaliers vs Hawks odds and predictions

A loss at home to Denver wasn’t the start the Cleveland Cavaliers (38-24, 13-17 away) wanted coming out of the All-Star break.

They’ll be playing their second game in as many nights as they visit the Atlanta Hawks (29-30, 15-12 home), who didn’t like the way the way they played the first half, costing head coach Nate McMillan his job.

With Joe Prunty now serving as interim boss, his job is to keep Atlanta in the playoff picture — they’re currently in eighth in the East, but just three games out of 11th spot and out of the play-in all together.

Cleveland is sitting steady in fourth, but oddsmakers have their current circumstances in mind as they’ve made them a 1-point road underdog and -105 on the moneyline in the NBA odds.

Cavaliers vs Hawks Odds

Team Spread Moneyline Total
Cleveland Cavaliers +1 (-110) -105 OFF
Atlanta Hawks -1 (-110) -115 OFF

It all gets underway Friday (Feb 24) at 7:30pm ET from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, in a game you can see on NBA League Pass.

At 13-17 away from home, Cleveland is the only East team currently in the top-6 seeds with a losing road record. The Hawks are 15-12 at home, their last loss coming in the first-half finale, which was McMillan’s last game.

 

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Odds as of Feb 23 at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Cleveland Betting Analysis

The Cavaliers, like many others before them, didn’t have an answer for 2-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Joker’s 13th triple-double in the last 16 outings pushed Denver to a 115-109 win — sending Cleveland to just their seventh home loss in 32 games.

Evan Mobley was the high man for the Cavaliers, dropping 31 points and grabbing nine boards. It was the fifth time this season he’s led the team in scoring, but he went scoreless in the decisive fourth quarter.

All-star Donovan Mitchell had 22 points, four steals and three dimes, while Darius Garland also dropped 22, with five assists. Jarrett Allen had 14 points and 13 boards.

Cleveland shot a dismal 6-for-26 from distance Thursday, a lowly 23.1% mark. On the year, their 14th from 3-point range, hitting at a 36.2% clip.

The Cavaliers’ top-rated scoring defense (106.3ppg) — which had held their previous six opponents under 110 points, have now surrendered 118 to the 76ers and 115 to the Nuggets in back-to-back losses.

Atlanta Betting Analysis

For a team two years removed from the Eastern Conference Finals, floating in the play-in realm for two straight years wasn’t good enough.

That’s the message out of Atlanta’s management team after the head coaching shakeup.

The good news is the Hawks are eighth in scoring, dropping 116.4 points per game, though they are taking the 2nd-most field goal attempts to get there. Atlanta is 13th in field goal shooting (47.8%) and 22nd in three-point shooting (34.7%).

There’s a lot of work to do defensively, as the Hawks surrender 116.7 points per game (21st), and are overmatched on the glass nightly, giving up 45.6 boards per game, a bottom-5 mark. It’s not surprise they’re tied for 26th in second-chance points allowed at 14.6.

Atlanta is also getting beat up in other key stats, like 26th in paint points allowed (53.4) and 27th in fast-break points allowed.

Trae Young has had his problems in year 5. Despite scoring 26.7 points per game, he’s shooting 42.8% from the field and 32.4% from three — figures that haven’t been that low since his rookie season. He’s also dealing with an undisclosed personal matter, but is listed as probable for Friday. Teammate John Collins, however, is out with a concussion.

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Cavaliers vs Hawks Betting Prediction

Cleveland has been one of the better teams playing on the second night of a back-to-back, running a 7-3 record, including 6-4 against the spread. Atlanta has not been able to take advantage of these situations. The Hawks are 4-10 ATS with a rest advantage.

The Cavs have taken advantage of weaker opposition lately, going 6-1 ATS in their last seven against teams with a losing record.

While you can argue the McMillan change was necessary, it’s a tough first act for Prunty’s Hawks to come out of the all-star break against a Cleveland side that already shook the rust off from a long break, and boast the league’s best defense.

Despite Atlanta winning  the lone head-to-head this season – -a 114-102 victory in November — this has all the makings of a Cavs bounce-back.

Pick: 

  • Cavaliers +1 (-110); 1.5 units to win 1.31 units
  • NBA Betting Record: 29-27-1 ATS, 1-1 ML, 5-7 o/u, 0-2 parlays; -6.5 units
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