You wouldn’t know it by looking at the standings, but the New Jersey Nets have played reasonably competitive basketball this month. They’ve won six of 10, taking five straight, losing four straight and winning their last game in overtime over Cleveland.
The rebuild won’t happen overnight but Deron Williams is settling in after arriving via the big trade with Utah. His scoring is way down but he’s dishing like crazy, averaging more than 13 assists per game as a Net. Unfortunately, the Nets won’t have him in the lineup Saturday. As of Friday morning, he was expected to miss New Jersey’s game against Orlando plus the Atlanta game on Saturday because of a wrist injury. The Nets are 1-2 both straight-up and against the spread since Williams got hurt.
The Atlanta Hawks sure don’t look like a contender for a deep playoff run anymore, do they? A 40-32 record means they’ll be fine to qualify for the dance in the East, where 35 wins seems to be enough, but the losses are piling up. The Hawks have dropped seven of 10, including four of their last five.
It looks like Joe Johnson just can’t live up to the huge contract he signed entering the season. After averaging at least 20 points per game for five straight years, Johnson is at 18.6 this season. His three point percentage sits at a career-worst 30.3.
Still, with no Deron Williams in the lineup, Atlanta should be favored by a touchdown or more in this matchup. The Hawks are one of the league’s better defensive teams and they’re facing the 28th-best offensive club in the NBA. The betting trends also favor the Hawks mightily. New Jersey is 0-4 ATS over its last four trips to Atlanta and the home team is 7-1 ATS over the last eight meetings between these two teams.
Atlanta isn’t setting the world on fire but a home game against a team missing its star is a recipe for redemption on Saturday night.
The rebuild won’t happen overnight but Deron Williams is settling in after arriving via the big trade with Utah. His scoring is way down but he’s dishing like crazy, averaging more than 13 assists per game as a Net. Unfortunately, the Nets won’t have him in the lineup Saturday. As of Friday morning, he was expected to miss New Jersey’s game against Orlando plus the Atlanta game on Saturday because of a wrist injury. The Nets are 1-2 both straight-up and against the spread since Williams got hurt.
The Atlanta Hawks sure don’t look like a contender for a deep playoff run anymore, do they? A 40-32 record means they’ll be fine to qualify for the dance in the East, where 35 wins seems to be enough, but the losses are piling up. The Hawks have dropped seven of 10, including four of their last five.
It looks like Joe Johnson just can’t live up to the huge contract he signed entering the season. After averaging at least 20 points per game for five straight years, Johnson is at 18.6 this season. His three point percentage sits at a career-worst 30.3.
Still, with no Deron Williams in the lineup, Atlanta should be favored by a touchdown or more in this matchup. The Hawks are one of the league’s better defensive teams and they’re facing the 28th-best offensive club in the NBA. The betting trends also favor the Hawks mightily. New Jersey is 0-4 ATS over its last four trips to Atlanta and the home team is 7-1 ATS over the last eight meetings between these two teams.
Atlanta isn’t setting the world on fire but a home game against a team missing its star is a recipe for redemption on Saturday night.