The Atlanta Hawks and the Brooklyn Nets square off this Thursday at Barclays Center. Which between these Eastern Conference powers will come away with another W to add to their record?

Catch this game live on Thursday, November 4, at 7:30 AM, Manila time

Away: Atlanta Hawks (4-3/1-3 on the road)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Trae Young (probable)
  • SG: Bogdan Bogdanovic (probable)
  • SF: De’Andre Hunter
  • PF: John Collins (questionable)
  • C: Clint Capela

With Trae Young dropping 26 points and Clint Capela posting a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds to go with two blocks, the Hawks snapped a two-game losing skid by taking down the Washington Wizards at home Tuesday, 118-111. Young earlier expressed his frustrations over the decline in free-throw attempts due to a recent rule change, but he managed to go 11-of-11 from the charity stripe against Washington. As a team, the Hawks, who are now 4-0 ATS in their last four games, went a perfect 29-of-29 from the foul line. It appears that Young still has plenty of tricks in the bag that will get him ample free-throw scoring opportunities. 

The combo of Capela and John Collins can be tough to crack for Brooklyn because of how well the two are on the glass and how great they are at getting easy buckets. Collins is shooting 61.8 FG% while Capela is making 55.4% of his shots from the field. Collins, however, might not be able to suit up because of a foot issue. Danilo Gallinari will get an uptick in minutes if Collins will get ruled out ultimately. While Gallo doesn’t have the rebounding prowess, athleticism, and toughness of Collins, he can stretch the floor well for Young, De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish, and Kevin Huerter. 

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Home: Brooklyn Nets (4-3/3-2 at home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: James Harden
  • SG: Joe Harris
  • SF: Bruce Brown
  • PF: Kevin Durant
  • C: Blake Griffin

It seems that the Nets are slowly getting their rhythm back. They won in consecutive fashion for the first time this season when they defeated the Indiana Pacers (105-98) and the Detroit Pistons (117-91), both at home, in their last two games.  Brooklyn had fun torching the Pistons’ defense for a 65.3 FG% and 13-of-25 shooting from behind the arc. Atlanta has a stouter defense than the Pistons, but when Durant and Harden are both humming, sometimes there’s just nothing that the other team can do.Kevin Durant put up a near-flawless performance, going 10-of-13 from the floor for 23 points, while James Harden posted a triple-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. 

If Collins sits out, the Hawks will be down a key body that can do a serviceable job of defending KD.  Durant is making basketball look incredibly easy with how he’s playing so far this season. He is averaging 27.7 points per game on 58.3 FG. Don’t sleep on LaMarcus Aldridge making noise against the Hawks as well, as the veteran has been on a thowback tour of sorts lately. Aldridge has scored a total of 37 points on 73.9 FG% in the last two Nets games. Brooklyn is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 home games against a team with a losing road record.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: Assuming the Collins will play, the Hawks will come away with a cover at least in this game. Take the Hawks’ spread. (+5.5).

Over/Under: The Hawks are the better-rebounding team and also last in the NBA in pace, which could mean that the game’s speed will likely be dedicated by Atlanta. Take the Under 220.0

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