PREMIUM
Rogers' TOTAL DOMINATION >> Won 4 Straight NBA Totals!
(NBA) Atlanta vs. Denver,
Total: 215.50 | -105.00 Under
Result: Loss
Total: 215.50 | -105.00 Under
Result: Loss
The set-up: The Atlanta Hawks opened the season having made 10 consecutive playoff appearances, the second-longest active run in the NBA. In contrast, the Denver Nuggets opened the season off four consecutive losing seasons and unsurprisingly, no postseason appearances in that span. Talk about franchises going in opposite directions. The Hawks roster "looks nothing" like last year's and Atlanta heads to Denver tonight with a 10-30 record, the worst mark of any NBA team. Meanwhile, the Nuggets check in at 21-19, good enough for the No. 7 seed in the West (only ONE game out of the No. 5 seed!).
Atlanta: The Hawks have reached the midway point of the season on pace for a 61-loss season, following Monday's 108-107 setback at the LA Clippers. The Hawks trailed by 11 at halftime but rallied to take a two-point lead with 23 seconds left, before surrendering C.J. Williams' game-winning three-pointer with nine seconds to go. So what else is new? PG Dennis Schroder leads the Hawks in scoring at 19.8 PPG and is handing out 6.5 assists per contest, as well (tied for 11th in the NBA). Taurean Prince led Atlanta with 20 points Monday and finished 4-for-8 from three-point range, one night after dislocating his right ring finger in a loss to the LA Lakers. Prince (13.0 & 5.6) leads group of six other double digit scorers behind Schroder, which includes impressive 6-10 rookie John Collins (10.9 & 6.9) out of Wake Forest.
Denver: The Nuggets have played their best basketball this season at home, winning 14 of 18 games. This contest opens a stretch in which they enjoy 11 of the next 14 contests at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets enter Wednesday in seventh place in the Western Conference standings (again, just one game out of fifth) but the Nuggets have dropped four of their last six despite battling to the end in Monday's 124-114 loss at Golden State. "We never quit working," Denver head coach Michael Malone told reporters Monday after the Nuggets pulled within six points with 1:26 to go after trailing by 18 with 7:17 remaining. "We forced them to bring their starters back in. We forced them to finish that game out." Gary Harris and Nikola Jokic each scored 22 points against the Warriors while Jamal Murray and Trey Lyles added 21 apiece as the quartet combined for 75.4 percent of Denver's offense. Harris (16.7) leads the team in scoring and Murray is second at 16.2 PPG. Center Jokic (15.9 & 7.6) has been excellent up front and as for Lyles (up to 10.7 & 4.9 on the season), he's made the most of extra "PT" with PF Millsap (15.3 & 6.2) sidelined. Lyles averaged 14.7 PPG in December and has upped that to 20.5 PPG through four January games.
The pick; The Hawks are a poor defensive team. allowing 108.5 PPG (25th) on 47.6% shooting (29th). Atlanta is a woeful 3-19 SU on the road, while allowing 109.9 PPG. That hardly bodes well against a Denver team which ranks 8th in both scoring (107.6 PPG) and FG percentage (46.5%). As noted, Denver is 14-4 SU at home but let me add that the Nuggets also up their scoring at the Pepsi Center, averaging 111.7 PPG. Make the Over an 8*
Atlanta: The Hawks have reached the midway point of the season on pace for a 61-loss season, following Monday's 108-107 setback at the LA Clippers. The Hawks trailed by 11 at halftime but rallied to take a two-point lead with 23 seconds left, before surrendering C.J. Williams' game-winning three-pointer with nine seconds to go. So what else is new? PG Dennis Schroder leads the Hawks in scoring at 19.8 PPG and is handing out 6.5 assists per contest, as well (tied for 11th in the NBA). Taurean Prince led Atlanta with 20 points Monday and finished 4-for-8 from three-point range, one night after dislocating his right ring finger in a loss to the LA Lakers. Prince (13.0 & 5.6) leads group of six other double digit scorers behind Schroder, which includes impressive 6-10 rookie John Collins (10.9 & 6.9) out of Wake Forest.
Denver: The Nuggets have played their best basketball this season at home, winning 14 of 18 games. This contest opens a stretch in which they enjoy 11 of the next 14 contests at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets enter Wednesday in seventh place in the Western Conference standings (again, just one game out of fifth) but the Nuggets have dropped four of their last six despite battling to the end in Monday's 124-114 loss at Golden State. "We never quit working," Denver head coach Michael Malone told reporters Monday after the Nuggets pulled within six points with 1:26 to go after trailing by 18 with 7:17 remaining. "We forced them to bring their starters back in. We forced them to finish that game out." Gary Harris and Nikola Jokic each scored 22 points against the Warriors while Jamal Murray and Trey Lyles added 21 apiece as the quartet combined for 75.4 percent of Denver's offense. Harris (16.7) leads the team in scoring and Murray is second at 16.2 PPG. Center Jokic (15.9 & 7.6) has been excellent up front and as for Lyles (up to 10.7 & 4.9 on the season), he's made the most of extra "PT" with PF Millsap (15.3 & 6.2) sidelined. Lyles averaged 14.7 PPG in December and has upped that to 20.5 PPG through four January games.
The pick; The Hawks are a poor defensive team. allowing 108.5 PPG (25th) on 47.6% shooting (29th). Atlanta is a woeful 3-19 SU on the road, while allowing 109.9 PPG. That hardly bodes well against a Denver team which ranks 8th in both scoring (107.6 PPG) and FG percentage (46.5%). As noted, Denver is 14-4 SU at home but let me add that the Nuggets also up their scoring at the Pepsi Center, averaging 111.7 PPG. Make the Over an 8*
