Update: Jalen Johnson (Shoulder) was ruled out for Saturday’s game
While the NCAA Tournament has stepped into center stage of the basketball world, the NBA season continues on. Tipping off as part of the 10-game NBA slate, the Golden State Warriors will face off with the Atlanta Hawks.
This is the second and final matchup between these two cross-conference opponents. They last faced off on Jan. 11th, which resulted in a 124-111 Hawks win.
Looking at the odds for tonight, the Hawks are 10.5-point favorites and hold -520 odds of winning outright on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Warriors hold +390 odds of winning outright, with the game total set at 229.5 points.
Warriors at Hawks Preview
The Golden State Warriors hold a 33-37 record on the season and sit in 10th place in the Western Conference. They enter this matchup coming off back-to-back losses and have lost nine of their last 11. On the season, the Warriors are 31-39 against the spread, and the game total has gone over in 42 of their 70 games played.
Injuries have impacted this Warriors team in a major way. Stephen Curry has been sidelined since Jan. 30th with a knee injury. Jimmy Butler III is out for the season with a torn ACL, while Al Horford, Seth Curry, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porzingis are all also sidelined. Draymond Green, De’Anthony Melton, Quinten Post, Gary Payton II and Malevy Leons are each questionable. Brandin Podziemski headlines the scoring of the available players, posting averages of 13.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
The Warriors are averaging 114.8 points per game this season, which ranks 19th in the NBA. They also rank 18th in offensive rating, 26th in field-goal percentage and 18th in three-point percentage. Defensively, opponents are scoring 114.5 points per game against the Warriors, which ranks 12th in the league. Golden State also ranks 14th in defensive rating, 22nd in opponent field-goal percentage and 10th in opponent three-point percentage.
The Atlanta Hawks have climbed to seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 38-32 record on the year. They snapped an 11-game winning streak last night against the Rockets, but they have been playing at an extremely high level as of late. On the season, the Hawks have gone 37-33 against the spread, and the game total is 34-36 to the over/under.
Jonathan Kuminga will be facing off with his former teammates for the first time after the midseason trade and his turbulent tenure. Kuminga is averaging 14.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists across his first six games in Atlanta. Jalen Johnson has taken an All-NBA quality leap this season, leading the team with 22.7 points, 10.4 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has also benefited from playing with some additional basketball freedom, adding 20.4 points and 3.7 assists per game. CJ McCollum, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu and Corey Kispert each also play important roles.
As a team, the Hawks are scoring 117.7 points per game, which ranks seventh in the league. They also rank 15th in offensive rating, 13th in field-goal percentage and sixth in three-point percentage. Defensively, opponents are scoring 116.6 points per game against the Hawks, which ranks 20th in the league. Atlanta also ranks 11th in defensive rating, 18th in opponent field-goal percentage and 15th in opponent three-point percentage.
Warriors at Hawks Prediction, Pick
The Hawks struggled to shoot the ball and were dominated on the glass by the Houston Rockets last night, but they have been playing at an extremely high level as of late. Not only had they won 11 consecutive games before this, but Atlanta covered the spread in 10 of those games. There has been some significant roster turnover this season, with the organization putting an end to the Trae Young era. Atlanta now leans on its size and athletic advantage on a night-by-night basis, which has produced some exciting early results.
This matchup would be a challenge for the Warriors under the best of circumstances, and it is especially the case given their injury issues. Golden State has lost seven of its last eight games, with the lone win coming against the Wizards. It lacks adequate offensive creators with so many significant players injured, so expect the Hawks to overwhelm the Warriors with their size.
During the first matchup between these two teams, the Hawks won 124-111, and Curry was still on the floor for this matchup. The margin for error is small without their superstar, and Golden State lacks effective offensive options to overcome this. It has failed to cover the spread in seven of its last 11 games.
These are two teams trending in opposite directions, and expect both to continue to put this on display tonight. Both of these teams are playing on the second half of a back-to-back, but this is a greater concern for the Warriors given their current shorthanded outlook. Ultimately, expect the Hawks to be the better team on both sides of the ball and have no problem taking full control of this matchup. Count on the Hawks to continue their strong stretch of play and maintain a double-digit lead throughout. The 10.5-point spread is not enough to blink at and expect the Warriors to lack having enough offensive options to keep this game competitive.
