NBA Basketball
2010-11-23 - Atlanta Hawks at New Jersey Nets
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Tuesday 23 November 2010 - Tip-Off 7pm ET
Midnight (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Atlanta Hawks (8-6) are probably one of the few teams, possibly along with the New York Knicks, that are quite happy to be on the road at the moment. The Hawks suffered another loss at home last night to Boston, but will feel confident they can return to winning ways as they come up against the New Jersey Nets (4-9).
After opening the season with a 6-0 start, the Hawks have seemingly fallen to pieces in recent games, losing 6 of 8, and suffering their most lopsided defeat last night against the Celtics. Larry Drew kept his charges in a locked room for 20 minutes after the game and has described their performance as 'embarrassing'.
There are little rumours that the Hawks prefer playing much harder than working and that a few of the players could be relaxing a little too much before games, sapping their energies for game time.
The Nets themselves have been having a hard time of late, losing 9 of their last 11 and each of the last 4 here at home. However, they have been competitive in games, losing their last 3 here by a combined 5 points.
New Jersey will be looking to keep Joe Johnson in the funk he is suffering. Johnson is averaging under 10 points per game in the last 3 games he has played, but he has had success against the Nets in the past, averaging 24 points per game over their last 7 meetings.
Head to Head
Atlanta will be hoping seeing the Nets might reinvigorate their side after they had beaten them in all 4 season meetings last year. The wins came by an average of 23.5 points per game.
New Jersey have beaten Atlanta 3 times in a row at home before losing here by 24 points in March.
The Nets are 2-4 against the spread at home this season. Atlanta are 5-1 ATS on the road.
Prediction
Atlanta are struggling majorly at the moment, but they have maintained their record on the road which could suggest they are feeling additional pressure at home.
New Jersey continue to play teams hard but are not getting the results that their performances seem to deserve at the moment. They are still a young team and will have learned a lot from all the struggles they faced last season.
This should be yet another close game, but I feel the Hawks will have the edge thanks to their recent games against the Nets. Atlanta may also be grateful of playing a road game to relieve some of the tension they are facing in front of their own fans and I expect them to bounce back here.
I will play Atlanta to win and cover the spread.
The Pick :
New Jersey Nets 92-98 Atlanta Hawks
