The Atlanta Hawks are on the edge of the Play-in tournament picture in the East. They need to start winning again or they’ll further put their playoff hopes in greater jeopardy. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers look to build another win streak.
Catch this game live on Saturday, March 12, at 8:30 AM, Manila time.
Away: Los Angeles Clippers (35-33/15-19 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Reggie Jackson
- SG: Terance Mann
- SF: Marcus Morris Sr.
- PF: Nicolas Batum
- C: Ivica Zubac
The Clippers are back to their winning ways after stopping a two-game losing skid with a 115-109 home win against the Washington Wizards last Thursday. Prior to that, the Clippers lost to the Golden State Warriors and the New York Knicks. In both those games, the Clippers failed to score more than 97 points, so their offensive explosion of sorts in the win over Washington is a nice setup for them going into a meeting with Atlanta’s porous defense.
The Hawks are just 21st in the NBA with 111.9 points allowed per game and 26th in opponents’ effective field goal percentage (54.2%). When they defeated Atlanta at home back in January, the Clippers went 12/33 from deep and shot 47.8 FG% with Reggie Jackson going just 5/14 for 12 points. However, Jackson is coming off a fantastic performance in the win over Washington, scoring 31 points with five 3s. He can stay hot from behind the arc, considering the fact that the Hawks are among the worst in the NBA in 3-point shooting defense.
Home: Atlanta Hawks (31-34/19-13 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Trae Young
- SG: Kevin Huerter
- SF: De’Andre Hunter
- PF: John Collins
- C: Clint Capela
The Hawks are hoping that a return to friendlier confines would also translate to a return in the win column. Atlanta finished a three-game road trip with a 1-2 mark, losing the last two to the Detroit Pistons and to the Milwaukee Bucks, respectively. The Hawks are 3-0 in their last three home games. They have also covered the spread in all those contests. Moreover, they are both 6-4 straight up and against the spread in their last 10 games as the home team versus the Clippers.
Despite their slump, the Hawks must like what they’re seeing from De’Andre Hunter, who’s been on a rise lately. The former Virginia Cavaliers star is averaging 13.2 points this season but has put up 19.3 on 57.6 FG% in Atlanta’s last three outings. Hopefully for Atlanta, Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic see an uptick in shooting efficiency as well against the Clippers, as both shot below 40 FG% in the Hawks’ past three contests. Bogdanovic had 19 points on 8/16 shooting in the January loss to the Clippers.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: The Hawks are better equipped this time around to combat the pesky Clippers, with Clint Capela healthy unlike in the first meeting with Atlanta. Taking the Hawks to cover (-6).
Over/Under: There will be better scoring in this game than in the initial showdown between these teams, but sticking with the Under (228.5) here.
