The Atlanta Hawks got back on track on Saturday with a takedown of the Philadelphia 76ers on the road, 127-121. Can they keep it up and defeat the Houston Rockets for the second time this season when the two teams meet again this Sunday? Or, will the Rockets show they have enough fuel to bounce back from a Saturday 107-104 loss against the Toronto Raptors north of the border?
Catch this game live on Sunday, February 11, 2024 at 8:30 AM, Manila time
Away: Houston Rockets (23-28/5-19 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- Aaron Holiday
- Jalen Green
- Dillon Brooks
- Jabari Smith Jr.
- Alperen Sengun
With Fred VanVleet out with an injury, the Rockets will be looking for the rest of the team to chip in to cover the temporary void left by the point guard. VanVleet scored 32 points in the Rockets’ 134-127 home loss to Atlanta back in December, while Jabari Smith Jr. put up 34 points, thanks in large part to a 14/14 shooting from the free-throw line.
Smith will look to get it going anew against the same team he torched for four 3-pointers as well in that December meeting. The absence of VanVleet also means Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun will be featured more offensively. They should be able to find holes in Atlanta’s defense which is arguably the worst in the NBA this season, thus far. The Rockets have scored a win in four of their last six visits to Atlanta. They also went 3-2-1 against the spread in those contests.
Home: Atlanta Hawks (23-29/12-14 Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- Trae Young
- Bogdan Bogdanovic
- De’Andre Hunter
- Jalen Johnson
- Onyeka Okongwu
Although Atlanta’s defense has always been a big question mark, the team’s offense is a different story. The Hawks are inside the top five in the league in scoring offense and are in the top 10 in terms of field goals made per game and 3-pointers drained per contest. Atlanta just takes a lot of shots. Its attack is predicated on just letting go of the rock. The Hawks also feed that seemingly unquenchable thirst for offense with excellent offensive rebounding.
In fact, Atlanta is among the best in the league in both offensive rebounds per game and offensive rebounding rate. In the first meeting with Houston, the Hawks allowed the Rockets to go 16/34 (47.1 3FG%) from deep. That kind of shooting is unlikely to happen again this Sunday, especially with the Rockets missing VanVleet. The Hawks have emerged victorious from six of their last 10 home games versus the Rockets, dating back to 2014. Over the same span, Atlanta has covered the spread seven times, with the total hitting the Over eight times.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: The Rockets (+4.5) cover the spread.
Over/Under: The total (236.5) hits the Under.
