NBA: Atlanta Hawks VS Los Angeles Clippers Pick and Predictions 01/08/2023

Game: 6:10 PM ET,  Sunday, January 8th, 2023

Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

TV:  NBA League Pass

Hawks: 18-21, 10th place Eastern Conference

Clippers: 21-20, 7th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Clippers -3.5, O/U 234.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Clippers -3.5, O/U 234

Fanduel: Point Spread: Clippers -3.5, O/U 234.5

Hawks: SF De’Andre Hunter, PF John Collins, C Onyeka Okongwu, PG DeJounte Murray, SG Trae Young

Clippers: PF Marcus Morris SR, SF Terance Mann, C Ivica Zubac, PG Reggie Jackson, SG Luke Kennard

An NBA interconference battle between the 10th place East team and the 7thg place West team.. And the truth is they are not separated by much.  The East is tougher this season than the West.  The entire league is churning out surprise winners and losers as a generation of vets give way to a new generation of young studs.  This season has been extreme with last season’s champs (the Warriors) losing, the Heat are losing, the Raptors are losing, the Lakers are losing even more than they have… New teams are taking the forefront.  These two teams are as stuck in the middle as they ever were. The Atlanta Hawks did a great thing by adding Pg Dejounte Murray who is absolutely a franchise player… they did the wrong thing by holding on to PF John Collins and C Clint Capela.. Who are not as good as their reputations… and they have not figured out yet how to use PG/SG Trae Young.. Trey is a great shooter and scorer and he stands in the way of Dejounte and wins.  Still they have a good roster.  The Los Angeles Clippers were pre-season favorites because Vegas assumed health at some point.  They still don’t have much beyond a revolving door on the injury list… SF Kawhi Leonard, SG Paul George, and SF/SG Norman Powell… have all taken turns in street clothes… and we are where we always are with the Clippers… shrugging our shoulders with a big “WHO KNOWS?!”.  

The Atlanta Hawks have won only 4 of their last 10 games.  They lost their last game to the Los Angeles Lakers 130-114… which was a big loss ATS.  In that loss SG Trae Young had 32 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists.  PG Dejounte Murray had 16 points, 1 rebound, and 6 assists… De’Andre Hunter and John Collins had 16 points apiece… so why the loss?  This team fits so poorly together that I would put my money on anybody else.  This team is up.. Then they are down… they watch as Trae Young leads them in scoring during losses and Dejounte Muray leads them in wins… They do not play defense… and they are in the range of a playoff “play-in game” meaning they are out of range for a big draft pick… They must trade somebody or two somebodies… or even do a full mid-season rebuild.  The Hawks are my tires stuck in mud… it’s a nice car but it isn’t getting anywhere.  

The Los Angeles Clippers are better on paper than they are on the court and you can say that same thing about the Clippers over every of the last 12 NBA seasons.  They keep building and building and improving on paper… but when the rubber meets the hardwood… something collapses back to average.  They have also only won 4 of their last 10 games… but they are on a 5-game losing streak.  This is an odd bird of a team.  They have 3 big scorers who are never healthy at the same time for too long.  Those scorers are surrounded by depth who literally can win without them but are never given the chance for too long.  The choice is obvious:  Trade the 3 stars (Leonard, George, Powell) to get more depth, or trade all the depth to get a couple more stars.  Those are the choices.  The team is literally in cap hell… the team has no picks… so trade one or the other and go for it all?... Or watch as the Clippers keep repeating history year after year after year after year.

 

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ATL: 18-21, 15-24 ATS, 23-16 O/U, 7-13 in road games.

LAC: 21-20, 20-21 ATS, 17-24 O/U, 11-8 in home games.

The Hawks are 11th in scoring with 115.3 points per game, 9th in rebounds with 44.2 per game, 5th in AST/TO ratio with 1.9, and 12th in blocks per game with 4.9.

The Clippers are 29th in scoring with 109.2 per game, 12th in rebounds with 43.8 per game, 28th in AST/TO ratio with 1.5, and 18th in blocks per game with 4.6.

Our prediction for Sunday, January 8th is…. Clippers 118 - Hawks 111

Bet on the Clippers.  The Hawks are a better scoring team but the Clippers have been hanging their hat on defense.  If the Clippers can hang on offense for even half the game the defense will win the day especially against missed shot and turnover king Trae Young.  SF Kawhi Leonard has missed time due to planned rest. He is due back for a trial run on his knee… that could throw a wrench into all the plans.. But the team wins with him or without him thanks to C Ivaca Zubac, SF Terance Mann, and PG Reggie Jackson.

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Hawks: PG Dejounte Murray.  Dejounte is the real deal and after spending 6 seasons in San Antonio is still trying to find his fit with the hawks who are also a bad team.  If he ever gets a proper roster around him?... The world would be his oyster.

Clippers: SF Terance Mann… If Kawhi plays, Terance plays less… If Paul George plays, Terance plays less… but if they don’t play Terance starts and plays his ass off.  The kid has no way of knowing day to day if he will be a starter, a sub, or an afterthought.  Expect him to have a good game no matter what role he is given.  He is a team first gamer.

Hawks: Nate “let's play some defense!!” McMillan

Clippers: Tye “LeBron likes me!” Lue