NBA Betting: Cleveland vs Atlanta
Tuesday NBA betting action sees the Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta, GA. Cappers picks provides free NBA handicapping tips all season long.
The Cavaliers are coming off their worst loss of the season on Sunday against the Pistons.
NBA Basketball Odds
Cleveland Cavaliers (18-12) vs. Atlanta Hawks (22-8)
Tuesday, Dec. 30
7:30 PM ET
Philips Arena/Atlanta, GA
NBA TV
NBA Betting Odds: Hawks -3
NBA O/U Odds: 201.5
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Atlanta defeated Cleveland 13 days ago in Cleveland and will have to do it again this time with Kyrie Irving back in the lineup.
Cleveland
On Tuesday, the Cavaliers will celebrate LeBron James’ 30th birthday and hope to get their season back on track. LeBron James is coming off on of the worst losses of his career on Sunday when the Cavaliers were dismantled by the Detroit Pistons 103-80.
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This will be the third meeting between the two ball clubs this year, both games have been blowouts by each team.
In order for the Cavaliers to be competitive with the Hawks in this contest they will have to find some answers on defense, specifically in the interior. With the loss of Anderson Varejao for the rest of the season due to a torn achilles the Cavaliers have serious problems with interior defense.
Tristan Thompson will have to step up and replace the long-time Cavalier. Thompson is averaging 9.0 points per game to go along with 7.5 rebounds.
LeBron has been impressive on the stat sheet like usual, but some people are beginning to question his effort. James is second overall in the league in points with 25.2 per contest, also adding 7.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds.
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Kyrie has missed the last couple games with a bruised left knee and will look to get the Cavaliers offense rolling again. Without Irving, the Cavaliers have shot 41.0% over the last three games and only 22.4% from the 3-point line.
Atlanta
In the last meeting the Hawks blew out the Cavaliers 127-98 in Cleveland and beat them up in the post. The first matchup the Hawks were on the other end of a blowout, in Cleveland again, and were beaten 127-94.
Atlanta will look to work the ball inside through Al Horford and Paul Millsap. Horford is having another good year putting up 14.6 points per game to go along with 6.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. Power forward Paul Millsap is having a career year averaging 16.5 points per game and a team-leading 8.1 rebounds.
The Hawks have been on a hot streak as of late winning eight of their last ten and winning five straight against quality opponents (Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Dallas, and LAC). Following this streak was a mind-boggling loss to the Milwaukee Bucks where they lost 30 points and turned it over a remarkable 38 times.
It can only get better for Atlanta too. Starting point guard Jeff Teague will be back in action after missing a few games due a hamstring injury.
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Teague will look to penetrate and open things up on the outside for the Hawks 3-point shooters.
NBA Handicapping Tips:
- Cleveland is 1-5 ATS in their last six road games against a team with a winning home record.
- Cleveland is 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against the Eastern Conference.
- Cleveland is 1-6 ATS in their last seven games after allowing 100+ points in their previous game.
- Atlanta is 7-0 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning S.U. record.
- Atlanta is 6-1 ATS in their last seven games overall.
- Atlanta is 8-2 ATS in their last ten games following an ATS spread win.
- Home team is 4-1 ATS in the last five head to head meetings.
NBA Gambling Prediction
Look for the Hawks to continue their dominance against a confused Cavalier ball club. The Cavaliers are going through a lot of difficulties not only on the court, but also off the court. With all the trade and coach rumors swirling around the Cavaliers they will not be focused on the court. Atlanta will have point guard and team leader Jeff Teague back for this matchup and he will play a big role in this game.
Free 4* NBA Betting Pick:
This will be the first game between these two teams in Atlanta. Despite LeBron’s birthday being the same day, I look for the Hawks to spoil it and beat the Cavaliers again.
Hawks 106, Cavaliers 99
Check out our Updated NBA Betting Odds.
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