by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Mar 25, 2022
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
Where to watch: Bally Sports Southeast-Atlanta, NBC Sports Bay Area
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Hawks -2
BetMGM: Hawks -2.5
Caesars: Hawks -2
Season record
Warriors: 48-25
Hawks: 36-37
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Warriors - Hawks preview and analysis
The Golden State Warriors are making things interesting in the race from 3-5 in the Western Conference, and by that I mean their inability to win right now has opened the door for teams to possibly make a jump in the top half.
And now with the Warriors not only finding an identity to close the season, on top of Steph Curry being out for the foreseeable future, but the Warriors’ positioning in the Western Conference is also going to be hanging by a thread unless they get back on track Friday and take down the Atlanta Hawks in the ATL on Friday.
Speaking of which, have you ever gotten to the point where you reach Friday and think it’s Sunday? Legitimately thinking of that right now. And hopefully, the Warriors don’t wait until Sunday to show up to this game because they’re going to need everyone in this kind of matchup to take down the Warriors and the like.
That kind of run got off to a strong start on Wednesday when the Warriors defeated the Miami Heat 118-104 to end a three-game losing streak. Jordan Poole finished with a game-high 30 points on 10 of 18 shooting and served as the Steph replacement by going for 7 of 13 from 3-point range.
"Our overall competitive fire and execution at both ends ... was excellent," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
For that group, without Steph, Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green, Otto Porter, and Klay Thompson, to go into Miami and beat an Eastern Conference contender on their floor by 14 points is truly impressive and should help build this group’s confidence.
It also helped that the Heat spent most of the second half yelling at each other because things like that are always fun, but Golden State took full advantage of that. No problems over here with that.
Most of those names should be back for this matchup against Atlanta, and the Hawks have picked a horrible time to play inconsistent basketball. Going from a 15-point win over the Memphis Grizzlies a week ago to then losing to the New Orleans Pelicans and Detroit Pistons does not make this a confident stretch for the Hawks.
Atlanta is coming off a 122-101 loss in Detroit on the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday. That came one day after beating the New York Knicks 117-111 inside Madison Square Garden. Trae Young finished with 21 points on 9 of 18 shooting and surprisingly didn’t attempt a single free throw. DeAndre Hunter had 15 points, but no other starter contributed to what was an otherwise lackluster effort from the Hawks.
They shot 40.2 percent from the field and took 44 3-pointers, but made only 14 of them.
"The second half of a back-to-back is always going to be tough, but the Pistons make it even tougher because they keep so much pressure on the ball," Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. "They are also always pushing on your defense because they have multiple ballhandlers."
Prediction
The Hawks are giving two points in this one, sort of surprising considering how the past few games have gone. One would have to expect Thompson and some others to be back to at least alleviate the scoring burden from the young guys and give Atlanta some trouble at the other end. I’m thinking taking the slight dog with the points and understanding that the Hawks just aren’t where they need to be right now. Warriors by 10
Betting trends
The Warriors are 16-19 ATS in road games this season.
The under is 63-55 when the Warriors are underdogs the past three seasons.
The Hawks are 5-14 ATS when playing their third game in four days this season.
Projected starting lineup
Warriors:
PG: Jordan Poole
SG: Klay Thompson
SF: Andrew Wiggins
PF: Draymond Green
C: Kevon Looney
Hawks:
PG: Trae Young
SG: Kevin Huerter
SF: De'Andre Hunter
PF: Danilo Gallinari
C: Clint Capela
Key injuries
Warriors: Steph Curry (foot, out), James Wiseman (knee, out), Andre Iguodala (back, out)
Hawks: John Collins (finger, out)
Statistical leaders
Warriors:
Points: Steph Curry -- 25.5
Rebounds: Kevon Looney -- 7.6
Assists: Steph Curry -- 6.3
Hawks:
Points: Trae Young -- 28.1
Rebounds: Clint Capela -- 11.8
Assists: Trae Young -- 9.5
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
