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Portland Trail Blazers vs Atlanta Hawks: Can the Hawks make it to the playoffs?
The Portland Trail Blazers are visiting the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on Wednesday.
It’s been a while since Portland won their last one
The Portland Trail Blazers are 14th in the Western Conference with a 19-53 record. They have lost the last seven games and are coming off a 110-92 loss to the Houston Rockets. The Blazers are in the bottom three teams in the league, scoring 107.6 points per game on 44.3% shooting from the field. Anfernee Simons is the best player on the team, averaging 22.6 points per game, followed by Jerami Grant with 21.
The Hawks are holding on in the play-in zone
The Atlanta Hawks are tenth in the Eastern Conference with a 32-39 record. They have won three of the last five games and are coming off a 120-118 win over the Boston Celtics. The Hawks are shooting the most field goals per game in the league (92.8) but are ranked only 21st in field goal percentage with 46.5%. Trae Young leads the team, averaging 26.4 points and 10.8 assists per game.
Betting Trends
Portland has played over the total point line in 4 of the last 5 games overall. Atlanta has played over the total point line in 5 of their last 6 games overall and in 14 of the last 20 games against teams from the Northwest division.
Prediction and Conclusion
The Atlanta Hawks are coming off the biggest win of the season as they snapped the Celtics winning streak with a 120-118. What makes this win even more impressive is the fact that the Hawks were down by 30 at one point of the game and they came back with their top scorer, Trae Young, being sidelined. Every game for the Hawks can be decisive since they are in the last place that leads to the play-in tournament. Portland, on the other hand, is already eliminated from any playoff conversation, and it is pretty much sure that they will tank for the rest of the season. Atlanta has won five of the last six home games against Portland, and there is no doubt they will add another one. However, the best pick for this game is to go over 214.5 points in total.
