It’s a Southeast Division clash down in South Beach between a pair of teams trying to move toward the .500 mark. The Atlanta Hawks are on the road as they make the trip to face the Miami Heat Tuesday night. Atlanta comes in off a 124-123 home win over Charlotte Sunday evening. Miami was knocked off 125-115 on the road by Toronto Sunday night in their last contest. The Heat owns a 65-51 edge in the all-time regular season series between the teams but it was the Hawks taking a 123-118 home win in the first matchup this season on November 3.
Atlanta Hawks Trying to Earn Back to Back Victories
Atlanta picked up a rare win as they snapped a 10 game skid by edging Charlotte at home Sunday evening. The Hawks now try to earn back to back wins for just the second time this season as they face another division foe. Atlanta trailed by 11 after the opening quarter before cutting the deficit to one at the half and took a three point lead after three quarters. In a back and forth final quarter, the Hawks took the lead late and hung on when John Collins blocked Kemba Walker’s attempted runner as time expired. Atlanta shot 53.2 percent from the floor and went 16 of 39 from three point range in the win. Collins led the Hawks with 23 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. Atlanta is 5-5 ATS on the road this season while the over is 5-5 in their games.
.@jcollins20_ had a career night last night in the W.
2⃣3⃣ points // 1⃣1⃣ rebounds pic.twitter.com/16UFUDB5yw
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 26, 2018
The Hawks are 21st in the league in scoring offense with 107.7 points per game this season. Atlanta is 22nd in the league in rebounding (43.4 rpg) and tied for 9th with 24.7 assists per contest. The Hawks are 30th in the NBA in scoring defense as they allow 118.6 points per game. Taurean Prince is second on the team with 15.1 points per game in the early going. Rookie Trae Young is leading the team with 15.7 points plus 7.7 assists while Kent Bazemore is putting up 13.4 points a night. The Hawks need more production from Miles Plumlee, John Collins, Jeremy Lin (11.5 points), Dewayne Dedmon, Omari Spellman, Vince Carter, Alex Poythress and Alex Len (10.4 points) offensively in order to have any success. Poythress (ankle) is questionable again for this one. The Hawks are 23rd in the league by shooting 44.3 percent from the floor as a team. Atlanta is tied for 9th in the league with 11.4 made three pointers a night and 28th in three point shooting as the team hits 32 percent from beyond the arc.
Miami Heat Looking for Home Divisional Win
Miami went back to their losing ways after beating the Bulls Friday night as they couldn’t keep up with the high scoring Raptors. The Heat hopes a return home can bring them a return to the win column in this contest. Miami was down seven after the opening quarter and never recovered: they drew no closer than two and that came midway through the second quarter. The Heat trailed by as many as 26 in the third quarter before cutting the deficit in garbage time. Miami shot 41.1 percent from the field and hit 15 of 36 three point attempts in the loss. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 35 off the bench. Miami is 3-7 ATS at home this season with the over 6-4 in those contests.
#FatherPrime put on an absolute vintage show last night in Toronto.@DwyaneWade dropped a season high 35 points – the most for a player off the bench in Miami HEAT history. Sit back and enjoy!
🔥🎥#HEATHighlights pic.twitter.com/21nWmcc6rA— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) November 26, 2018
The Heat has been mediocre offensively so far this season, ranking 20th in the league with 108.4 points per game. Miami has been above average on the glass as they are 5th with 47.8 boards per game. The Heat is 24th in assists with 22 dimes per contest. Miami comes in 13th in scoring defense as they allow 110.3 points per game. Goran Dragic is second on the Heat with 16.3 points and 4.7 assists per game this season. Josh Richardson (team-high 20.4 points), Rodney McGruder (12.4 points, 5.9 rebounds) and Dwyane Wade (14.9 points) are solid contributors. Hassan Whiteside (13.3 points, 14.1 rebounds, three blocks) is a force in the low block while Derrick Jones Jr. and Kelly Olynyk have proven to be reliable options. Justise Winslow, Bam Adebayo, Wayne Ellington, James Johnson, and Tyler Johnson are key pieces off the bench. Miami is 30th in field goal percentage as they shoot 43.3 percent as a team. The Heat stands 6th with 12 three-pointers a night and 8th in three-point shooting at 36.2 percent. Tyler Johnson is out while dealing with a hamstring injury. Dragic is expected to be out until early December with a sore knee.
Notable Trends
- Hawks are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record
- Hawks are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of less than .400
- Hawks are 0-6-1 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a losing home record
The Bottom Line What to bet on this game.
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Miami has struggled of late and injuries have been part of the problem. Of course, facing the Hawks, you really have no excuses if you lose, especially when you’re the home team. Atlanta is just 1-9 on the road this season and they’ve been blown out on several occasions. The Heat is scuffling but they showed some fire in battling back to make the final score against Toronto more respectable. Miami, playing at home, gets the nod over a struggling division rival.
Prediction: Miami Heat
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Atlanta brings the league’s worst scoring defense into this contest but the fact remains that Miami is a beaten up club right now. The Hawks are coming off a win and while that doesn’t mean much defensively seeing they gave up 123 points, they at least have a little bit of positive momentum. The Heat has to figure things out in a hurry: Whiteside logged just 12 minutes Sunday against Toronto, giving Adebayo extended run. While the rookie delivered with 16 points and 21 rebounds, there are more questions than answers surrounding Miami. Can the Heat turn things around in this one?
The under is 4-1 in the Hawks’ last 5 road games, 23-6 in their last 29 games following an ATS win, 23-7-1 in their last 31 games following a straight up win and 17-6 in their last 23 on Tuesday. Miami has seen the under go 14-3 in their last 17 on Tuesday, 4-1 in their last five overall and 4-1 in their last five when their opponent scores at least 100 points in their last game. The teams have stayed under the number in 22 of the last 28 meetings in Miami. Look for this one to follow suit as the injury issues keep this one down just a bit.
Prediction: Under
